


Destiny Comes in the Shape of a Rabbit

by crystalcatprincess



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anxiety, Body Swap, Comfort, F/F, Mutual Pining, Parental Issues, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Supernatural Elements, a lot of sleeping for some reason, background saayarimi, faked amnesia, learning self-love, starting a band
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 86,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalcatprincess/pseuds/crystalcatprincess
Summary: Switching bodies with someone was something Arisa thought only happened in fiction. Yet, here she was, inside the body of a strange girl who she would become increasingly fond of.
Relationships: Hanazono Tae/Wakana Rei (implied), Ichigaya Arisa/Toyama Kasumi, Ushigome Rimi/Yamabuki Saaya
Comments: 42
Kudos: 86





	1. When we first met

**Author's Note:**

> hello there  
> I haven't posted anything in half a year whoops, however I have been writing a lot, it's just that I didn't think it was any good, so I never published anything :')  
> this is the first fic which I am somewhat happy with and that I think I will finish, I think I'll update every week, since I have some chapters in store, it's also kinda long lmao  
> the first chapter is kinda meh imo but it gets the job done and it will get better, so I hope y'all still enjoy this fic :)
> 
> tags might change  
> edit: adjusted the formatting

Monday morning. A devastating scream echoed through the Toyama household.

Asuka jumped out of her bed and slammed the door to her sister’s room open.

“Onee-chan! What happened?” she asked, genuinely worried about the girl before her, who sat on the ground, mortified. Her expression only worsened when she saw Asuka standing in the doorway.

“W—WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME???” Her shoulders stiffened and her hands were trembling a little.

Asuka was taken aback. What had happened to her sister? Did she have a bad dream?

“Are you still asleep or something? Look, it’s just me.” She wanted to place her hand on her sister’s shoulder, but the latter slapped it away, much to Asuka’s annoyance.

_That’s it! She’s lost it!_

“Kasumi!”

“Get away from me!”

“KASUMI!”

The girl on the ground looked up, giving her sister her full attention, but also showing a confused face. “I’m not—”

That’s when she turned her head and saw herself in the mirror, a pair of big purple eyes looking back at her. She stood up and got closer. Her hands ran through her brown hair; it only reached her shoulders and was straight and smooth.

Her body was slender and she felt light on her feet. She did a little twirl and continued eyeing herself in the mirror.

“Jeez, Onee-chan, what is _up_ with you? Did you hit your head somewhere?” The girl turned around, still acting a little strange.

“Uhh, yeah, maybe...I don’t remember…” She let out a sheepish laugh. Asuka put her hand to her mouth.

“Amnesia?” Her sister nodded. “I think so.”

“I’ll get Mom.” With that Asuka stormed out of the room giving Kasumi(?) some time to process her situation.

Because she was, in fact, not Kasumi. However, for now, she let this girl (who, apparently, was her younger sister) believe she was, just so she could gain some information and maybe find out what exactly was going on.

Pretending to have amnesia was actually the perfect plan. _I really got lucky with that, huh…_

Only a moment later, Asuka came back, accompanied by her mother.

“Kasumi, dear! How are you feeling?”

Kasumi(?) shifted around a little. What was she supposed to answer?

Kasumi’s mother got closer and placed a hand on hers.

“Do you know who I am?” There was sorrow in her eyes. Kasumi(?) didn’t want to hurt this woman, plus it had to be her supposed mother, that much she could tell from the circumstances.

“Mother…?” The woman let out a breath and smiled. The girl felt her hand being squeezed. Not a bad feeling, if she was being honest.

“Kasumi!” Kasumi’s mother hugged her tightly. Kasumi(?) let it happen. This situation was strange to her, but she wouldn’t go out of her way to hurt innocent people. She didn’t know this woman, but the woman knew her, or at least the body she was in right now.

Kasumi’s mother let go and warmly caressed her daughter’s cheek.

“We’ll have to get you to a hospital.”

* * *

White walls and the smell of antiseptic. Kasumi(?) hadn’t been to a hospital in a long time. She wondered how often the real Kasumi had come here already. Judging by her family’s reaction, it probably wasn’t a lot.

Finally, it was her turn. She was led into a small room and greeted by the doctor.

“Amnesia, you say?” His voice was monotone and emotionless, but not in a bad way.

“Alright, uh, Toyama-san. What do you still remember?” All eyes were on her. She didn’t like the attention, but it was something she had to bare for a moment.

“Um, my name is Kasumi Toyama. This woman here is my mother and this girl is my sister. I’m fifteen years old and my birthday is July 14th. I think that’s about everything.”

Obviously, that was all a lie. She had just repeated all the details Kasumi’s mother had mentioned to the nurses already.

Her real name was Arisa Ichigaya. She lived with her grandma who had a small pawn shop. Though, she was also fifteen years old, her real birthday was October 27th.

“Hmm…” The doctor reviewed her answers, but his expression remained unreadable.

“That’s not much. Your mother mentioned something about you hitting your head. Elaborate on that.” Arisa let out a sigh. There was no way they were going to find anything that could prove her condition.

“Well, I’m not sure...I woke up and my head hurt a little.”

“A little?”

“Yeah…” The doctor stared at his notes again.

“We’ll do a check-up.” With that he called a nurse and Arisa was brought to a different location.

After a bunch of examinations, she just wanted to go home. Her real home would’ve been ideal of course, but even Kasumi’s home would be fine.

To everyone but Arisa’s surprise, no trace of any injury had been found on her body. The doctor couldn’t really explain the amnesia and concluded it had to be something of psychological nature.

Exhausted, they all returned home. Arisa slammed herself on Kasumi’s bed, which was surprisingly comfortable. At least, she wouldn’t have any trouble sleeping.

Still, a lot of things swarmed around her mind. How did it come to this? How was this even possible? When would she get her own body back? Was this Kasumi in her body now?

Suddenly, Arisa sat up. What would Kasumi do in her body? What if she was some sort of delinquent? She became increasingly worried about her grandma and her reputation and her grades...and her bonsais!!!

“Tonegawa~” she mourned out loud and let herself fall back again.

Speaking of Kasumi, Arisa practically knew nothing about her. Maybe she could find out what kind of person she was by going through her stuff? She was laying in her room which should be full of Kasumi’s personality. Arisa knew her own room was.

Slowly, she got up and sat down at the desk. Digging through someone’s stuff didn’t feel good to her, but it was necessary. Though, if she tried thinking about Kasumi going through her own stuff, a shiver ran down her spine. Who knew what she would do with that information?

This actually gave her even more motivation to search Kasumi’s room. If worse came to worst, maybe Arisa could use a little blackmail. With that in mind, she began her search.

Several hours later, Arisa broke down on the bed again. Her first impression of Kasumi wasn’t all that great. Kasumi’s school work and grades were below average. Her hobbies and interests seemed questionable at best. The only thing that wasn’t completely terrible was her wardrobe and the overall state of her room.

"That's just great, isn't it?" She sighed. While it did give her a little glimpse into the girl named Kasumi, it also didn't give her much more than that.

Arisa was tired. It was late. She decided to leave the situation at that and went to sleep, but even she couldn't brace herself for what the next day had prepared for her.

* * *

The first thing that came to Arisa's mind when she woke up was the lack of noise. She was awake, yet there was no alarm ringing. Did she oversleep?

She turned in her (technically Kasumi's) bed and tried to spot a clock. The closest one she could find was the alarm clock next to the bed, however one close look revealed, that a) it was around 6AM, so she didn't oversleep and b) the alarm wasn't turned on anyway.

Well, 6AM was a bit early for her standards but who knew what Kasumi was used to. Still, waking up without an alarm was kind of hardcore and Arisa respected anyone who could pull that off.

Regardless, she decided to 'rise and shine' as everyone loved putting it and maybe examine the things outside of Kasumi's room.

She slipped into the hallway and was stung by a devastating realization. She had no idea what the house looked like, where all the different rooms were and where she had the best chances of finding something useful. She didn't even know where the bathroom was.

"You're up early." Arisa spun around to see Asuka standing in the doorway of her room, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes.

"Ah, um, good morning…Nee-san," she responded, still not sure what Kasumi’s sister’s name was. Based on Asuka's sad and sleepy stare, she felt that she was about to find out.

"You...really don't remember…" She tilted her head downwards. Arisa was pained to see Kasumi's sister like this, even if this girl was essentially nothing but a stranger to her.

Asuka raised her head again. "You always call me Aa-chan, remember?"

Her eyes weren't watery, yet Arisa felt the girl was close to tears. This somehow didn't stop her from making it worse.

"Aa-chan, yeah, it's short for…" She waited for her to complete the sentence. Asuka gulped and held back her disappointment.

"Asuka," she almost whispered. Arisa felt her heart snap in two. _Asuka…_ She couldn’t even imagine how painful it must be to her, seeing her own sister like this.

“O—Okay, then…” Arisa wanted to say her name again, but she thought it would feel forced at this point. Instead she asked, “Where is the bathroom?”

Asuka’s mood stayed gloomy as she pointed to the door at the end of the hallway. Arisa hesitantly smiled and slowly walked down the hallway.

She shrieked when she saw her—or rather Kasumi’s—face staring back at her in the mirror. That was something she still had to get used to.

Arisa was about to use the toilet, when a realisation, that should’ve been obvious, hit her. This wasn’t her body. Would it be weird for her to do such things like pee or shower while having Kasumi’s body? Well, it’s not like she could just turn off her body functions.

Besides, hygiene is important, no matter whose body you’re occupying. Kasumi would understand, right? She’d probably do the same for Arisa’s body…Wait…

Another hit at her self-consciousness. Kasumi could see her body, no, she _would have_ to see her body at some point. What would she think? Would she judge her? Would she think she’s ugly? Arisa’s thoughts gave her no peace.

_Well, at least Kasumi is a girl, like me…_ Yeah, at least it wasn’t a boy who she had switched bodies with. She couldn’t imagine that.

She took multiple deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Her heart was beating too fast for her liking. Plus, she still had to pee.

_Maybe I can close my eyes?_ Arisa shook her head and realized how stupid that sounded. It would also not solve the problem that she still had to...touch herself...in certain areas.

Her cheeks turned flaming red and she frantically shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. It wasn’t anything dirty, on the contrary, she was keeping Kasumi’s body clean. Yes, exactly!

Having come to that conclusion, Arisa stood in front of the toilet and pulled down her pants.

* * *

“What was taking you so long, did you forget how to pee?” Asuka greeted her when Arisa came out of the bathroom again.

“Sorry…” was all she could say. She could only hope Kasumi’s sister couldn’t see how red her face still was.

Asuka gave her a grumpy look, then went inside the room Arisa had spend a solid twelve minutes in, just to use the toilet.

In the end, it hadn’t been that bad, but Arisa couldn’t hold back her embarrassment. She felt like she had violated Kasumi’s privacy. If she ever found the girl, she would wholeheartedly apologize to her. But would Kasumi do the same?

Arisa caught herself overthinking again and decided to focus on something else. That’s right, she wanted to snoop around the house a little. If anyone caught her, she could just claim she was trying to remember something. Besides, Kasumi lived here, it shouldn’t be suspicious for ‘her’ to roam around and examine things.

The first room she found was the living room. It was connected to the kitchen, where Kasumi's mother was cooking breakfast.

“Kasumi! You’re awake? Breakfast isn’t ready yet…” Arisa shook her head.

“That’s fine. I’m not that hungry right now.”

Kasumi’s mother showed an apologetic smile and continued cutting vegetables. Arisa thought about inconspicuously looking through the room, but with Kasumi’s mother there, she felt it was too risky.

Instead she came up with a better way to dig up information on Kasumi. Since she (supposedly) had amnesia it would only be natural for her to ask a lot of questions, right?

While Arisa obviously didn’t want to have a situation similar to that with Asuka earlier, she’d have to bear it. Maybe Kasumi’s mother would be happy to know her daughter was trying to reclaim her memory.

“Say…” Kasumi’s mother looked up.

“What is it, dear?”

“It’s about...me. I know who I am on paper. Kasumi Toyama. First year of high school.” She paused to see if Kasumi’s mother still had her attention.

“But I don’t really know the real me. I mean, I can’t remember what I was like before...before I forgot. I thought maybe...you could tell me…” Arisa held her breath. How would the woman behind the counter react?

Kasumi’s mother froze for a moment. Hearing that was hard, however she didn’t fault Kasumi for her request. If it helped her regain her memory, she’d do anything.

“Of course, my dear.”

Arisa grabbed a chair and sat down at the counter. Part of her couldn’t believe that her plan worked so flawlessly, but she didn’t have time to continue thinking about it. Her full attention belonged to the woman who would (hopefully) tell her anything she needed to know.

"From the moment you were born, you were always spreading happiness, wherever you went. You had such an innocent mind and so much energy, you didn't even know where to put it. You had so many dreams and ideas you told me about." She smiled.

"Like that one time you wanted to turn Asuka into a mermaid, so she would win her swimming competition. Of course, Asuka kept telling you that was impossible, but you never gave up trying." She chuckled.

"There was always so much love and creativity inside that little body of yours and it only got more as your body grew. Everyone loved being around you. You had so much charm and compassion."

That made Arisa rethink everything she had thought about Kasumi before. Sure, it was her mother talking about her own daughter, of course she wasn't going to say anything negative.

But also, it gave her a warm feeling. Arisa had a suspicion where Kasumi had all that love from. Her mother couldn't be more proud.

"I really hope we'll get you back soon," she said in the softest voice the teen had ever heard.

"Yeah, me too."

Before any of them could say anything else, Asuka appeared, still a bit grumpy, but maybe she just wasn't a morning person. Arisa could totally get behind that.

"Oh, Asuka! Breakfast is almost ready, could you wait just two more minutes?" Kasumi's sister nodded and sat down at the table.

Arisa moved the chair back to its original position and sat down, facing Asuka.

"So, you remember anything yet?" Arisa didn't expect her to suddenly ask a question.

"Uh...not really." There wasn't much she could say. She figured she would have to do some research on amnesia, so she could know how to 'naturally regain’ her memory again.

She quickly stopped that train of thought though, when she saw what Asuka was wearing.

"Hanasakigawa uniform…"

"Eh? What did you say?" Asuka's eyes lit up.

_Oh no_.

"Oh, I only noticed your uniform. It's cute." Did she manage to save herself with that? Judging by Asuka's reaction the answer was no.

"You remembered the name of your school… and the uniforms. Of course you did, it was practically your only reason why you wanted to go to Hanasakigawa instead of Haneoka…"

Yeah, that sounded like the girl Arisa saw in Kasumi's school notes. With those grades, she could never even set foot in Haneoka. Though, who was she to speak, she barely went to school in the first place.

"Speaking of school, you're not thinking of going, are you?" Arisa looked up to meet Asuka's stern gaze. It was clear who was the responsible one in this household.

"Going to school with amnesia? Yeah, as if I—" She stopped. It was true, Arisa wouldn't do something like that. But what about Kasumi? Even if she's lost her memory, her personality should still be the same to a degree.

And from what she'd heard, she could pretty much guess what Kasumi would think in such a situation.

"As if I wouldn't go to school because of something like that! I mean, my body is healthy, there's no real reason why I shouldn't go to school," she managed to save herself.

Asuka groaned. "No reason? Your missing memory is not a reason to stay at home? Are you kidding me?"

She was 100% done with her sister and Arisa felt the same way. Going to school with amnesia was a thing only idiots would do. That's why she was certain, she would meet Kasumi at school that day, albeit in Arisa's body.

"But Aa-chan, maybe I'll remember something when I go to school. We can't let this go to waste." Asuka shook her head and remained stubborn.

"You'll have plenty of chances to go to school. I just think it's too early. Do you even know the way?"

"We can go together." Arisa flashed her a big smile, hoping to imitate a little child, trying to convince their mother to buy them candy. To her surprise, it worked; Asuka gave in.

"Yes!" she cheered. It was weird to play such an excitable character, though it wasn't really hard to pretend to be an airhead.

Arisa finished her breakfast in record time and went to Kasumi's room to get ready. She opened the wardrobe and found a familiar looking uniform inside.

At last, something Arisa was actually familiar with. She put on the uniform and looked at herself in the mirror.

The uniform was the same, yet it looked so different on Kasumi's body. She looked like…a girl, a regular teenage girl, still in the middle of growing up. Not many curves graced her body, but she wasn't a flat board either. A solid middle ground.

Meanwhile, Arisa's body was not nearly as cute as Kasumi's. Her chest was big and attracted too much attention. She was short and looked squished, due to her chubbiness. Not the complete opposite of Kasumi, but different enough to make Arisa feel very self-conscious.

Oh, what she would give to have such slender thighs… She let out a sigh. It wasn't her intention to stay in this body for too long. She needed to find Kasumi, so they could change back, preferably fast.

She grabbed Kasumi's school bag and went downstairs, where Asuka had already been waiting for her.

"We're off!" both girls said, as they opened the front door.

"Have a nice day and be careful!" they heard their mother respond.

Arisa made sure to memorize the way to school as well as she could. It wasn't too bad, actually. They only had to get to the train station and from there, Arisa could manage.

Just before they had to split up, Asuka grabbed her sister's wrist.

"Please, don't push yourself. Call mom if anything happens." She paused. "You don't remember our phone number, do you?"

Arisa shook her head.

"Ask the teachers, they should have it in their records. But just in case—" she pulled out a notebook and started writing. "Here." She tore the page out and gave it to her sister.

"Thanks." Arisa put the paper into her pocket. She was ready to go when suddenly, Asuka hugged her.

Arisa was startled, but didn't resist. Kasumi's sister needed it, she wouldn’t refuse her. The hug lasted a few moments.

“Come back soon,” Asuka whispered, holding back tears. She looked at her sister for a last time and left.

Arisa felt a breeze pass by. She didn’t know what it meant to have siblings or parents that weren’t so busy with work all the time. It all felt so...invasive.

This wasn’t _her_ sister being worried about _her_. She didn’t even know Arisa existed. And just when she had come into Asuka’s life, the latter wanted her gone. Not that Arisa loathed her for that, but looking at the situation from this point of view made her feel worthless.

She took a deep breath and stared at the big school gate in front of her. The only thing she could do now is hope to meet Kasumi and somehow get her body back.

The girl started walking, her pace slow so she could look around and hope to find her own face. As she kept observing her surroundings, a very important question crossed her mind. Which class did Kasumi go to?

Mild panic rose inside her. Would it be weird to ask someone if she went to their class? Yes, definitely. And what about Kasumi? Did she know Arisa’s class? She could only hope she did.

Her hands started trembling. _Calm down, calm down!_ Why was she like this? This wasn’t even such a big deal, why was she getting so anxious about it?

“Toyama-san? Are you okay?” Arisa didn’t register the question. Only when she felt a hand on her shoulder she finally reacted.

Meeting her gaze was a girl she didn’t recognize. She wore a ponytail and smelled like...bread?

“Toyama-san, I almost didn’t recognize you without your ears!” The strange girl let out a giggle.

“Ears?”

“You know, those thingies you usually have on both sides of your head. Everyone’s been calling them cat ears because that’s what they look like.”

Arisa had no idea what she was talking about. Cat ears? With every new information she learned about Kasumi, Arisa became more and more confused about the girl.

“Oh yeah, those! I, um…” Should she tell this girl the ‘truth’ about her amnesia? She did seem to be Kasumi’s friend or classmate—or even both—, so she could probably trust her, right?

“You see, the truth is…” Arisa went on to tell her the same lie, she’d told Kasumi’s family.

The girl was surprised, but very understanding and (oddly) supportive.

“Whoa, that’s crazy! I thought stuff like this only happened in fiction!” Arisa shrugged.

“Yeah, me too. But here we are.” She wanted to ask her for her name, now that it wouldn’t seem weird anymore, but the girl was faster.

“By the way, I’m Saaya Yamabuki. You probably forgot me, but that’s okay. We’re only classmates after all.” Arisa bowed before her.

“Thank you for your understanding, Yamabuki-san.” Saaya raised her hands and insisted it wasn’t a big deal.

“You don’t have to go that far, Toyama-san…”

Before any of them could say anything more, they heard the bell ring.

“Shoot, class is about to begin! We better hurry!” Saaya said. Arisa responded with a nod and both girls ran to class. They made it just in time.

Saaya showed her Kasumi’s seat and quickly mentioned the teacher’s name. “Our first class today is English.”

Arisa could cry, that’s how thankful she was to her. She almost envied Kasumi for having such a great, responsible friend. Though, even _having_ a friend would be a good start for her.

Arisa couldn’t keep her focus during lessons. It didn’t help that she only went to school to take her exams, but studied at home the remaining time. How could one even concentrate with so many people around?

The bell rang and it was finally break time. Arisa sighed and leaned back in her chair. All this social interaction made her exhausted.

“So, I guess this all explains why you were absent yesterday,” she heard Saaya from behind her. The girl sat down at the desk behind Arisa, who turned around to face her.

“Here.” Saaya handed her some notes, probably from class. Arisa thanked her and put them in her bag. _Not that I need them…_

But Kasumi probably did. That’s when she remembered, why she had come to school in the first place. _I have to find Kasumi!_

“Um, sorry, do you mind if I head out for a bit? There’s...something I need to check.” She expected Saaya to ask some annoying questions, so she was pleasantly surprised when her classmate replied with, “Sure, go ahead.”

She flashed her a brief smile and quickly left the classroom. Saaya really was the perfect friend in a way. _Focus Arisa!_

Classroom 1-B was just a few steps away. The door was open, since it was still break time. She took a deep breath. Her palms were sweaty but she had to ignore that for a moment.

Anticipation rose inside her body, along with nervousness and fear. What if Kasumi wasn’t there? What would she do then? Question after question crossed her mind and caused her legs to tremble.

_Pull yourself together! You don’t know what’ll happen._ Well, that was actually the scary part.

After hesitating for so long and making the students around her stare in her direction, she finally took a step forward and took a peek inside the classroom.

At first glance she couldn’t see anyone that resembled her. Not that she knew what she would look like from such a different angle. She looked around multiple times, but didn’t find what she had been looking for.

Disappointed, Arisa was about to go back when a student approached her.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Ah, um, yes…” She glanced inside the classroom again. “Is Ichigaya-san here?”

Arisa’s heart felt as if it could burst any minute. It was most likely only her perception, but the student took ages to give her the highly anticipated answer. However, it wasn’t something Arisa had even been prepared for.

“Who’s that? Is she in our class?” Arisa felt her soul leave her body. Of course, she had been at school for what, one day, maybe two? Of course, no one would remember her or even know of her existence. How could she have thought it would be any different?

“Ichigaya? I think I heard that name somewhere before…”

“Isn’t that the student representative that didn’t show up on the first day?”

“Oh yeah, now that you say it...But is she in our class?”

“Hm, I don’t know.”

“Wait, could it be that crazy girl that suddenly appeared today?”

A wave of hope washed away Arisa’s existential crisis as she listened to the student talking to her friends. “W—What crazy girl?”

The students turned towards her once again.

“Oh you’ll know when you see her. She doesn’t seem to be in the classroom right now, though. Let’s just say, she really attracts everybody’s attention.”

_Great, so much for my reputation._

“O—Okay...I guess, I’ll come back later. Thank you.” Arisa turned around and entered Kasumi’s classroom again.

Saaya was chatting with some other classmates, but waved when she saw her friend.

“So, any success?” Arisa shifted around a little.

“Not quite. I’ll have to try next break.” Saaya gave her a reassuring smile, filling Arisa with a warm feeling.

“I wish you the best,” she replied.

“Thanks.” Arisa’s cheeks turned light pink. Maybe things would turn out okay. With Saaya by her side, she was ready to believe that they would.

* * *

Classes went by rather quick, while Arisa had been busy drowning in self-pity. This experience had been the perfect example to show how lonely Arisa’s life was, in contrast to that of Kasumi. Arisa had no friends or even classmates that remembered her.

She thought of all the lunch breaks in middle school that she had to spend on her own. Yes, this had been the beginning of her life as a shut-in. Making friends was tough, especially for someone who never learned how to do it properly. Arisa’s solution had been to just avoid people altogether.

As long as she didn’t interact with anyone too much, she lived without problems. Her loneliness didn’t bother her that much, as long as she didn’t have to see all the people that weren’t lonely around her. Only now she realized how stupid that actually was.

_I made everything even worse…_

Now she didn’t even know how to properly interact with the people around her. Maybe the body switch happened to highlight all these problems and make Arisa change her behavior while it wasn’t too late. But was it possible for her to just change like that?

That was something she had yet to find out.

The bell rang and it was go time. Saaya gave her a thumbs up paired with an encouraging smile. Arisa nodded at her and headed straight for the classroom next door.

A stream of students hindered her from entering immediately and by they time most of them left, not many students remained. Arisa inspected them from afar, but couldn't find the face she's been looking for.

_Figures_.

If Kasumi wasn't in her classroom, she could be anywhere. Arisa didn't know her well enough to know all the potential locations she could've went to. Still, she had to try.

And so, her big search began. She wondered whether it would be necessary to check all the rooms at school, but decided against it.

She went out into the courtyard first. It shouldn't be too hard to find someone in such a big open space, right? But even after looking for so long, no crazy girl in sight.

Next spot she searched was the roof. At first, Arisa questioned whether the roof was even open, but she had to try at least.

To her surprise, the door knob twisted smoothly, allowing her to step outside into the warm breeze that many students clearly enjoyed.

The rooftop was bigger than she expected, but it was easy to oversee. Arisa scanned through all the faces she could spot and was disappointed to have found nothing again.

Where could Kasumi be? She started wondering, if the crazy girl those students had been talking about was someone else entirely. Arisa went up to the fence that surrounded the roof area and stared down at the courtyard.

The wind made her hair flutter softly and she payed attention to how warm the sunlight felt on her skin. Was it time to give up?

Arisa concluded no, because a particular scene caught her eye. A little circle had formed around a single blonde student. She could swear, she had already been down there, in the exact same spot, but she could continue overthinking this while running.

There was no way she was going to miss this chance. She skipped over multiple steps on her way down and almost tripped every single time. In that moment, she didn’t care about all the people that were staring at her and ignored their complaints as she pushed them out of her way.

Out of breath, she arrived at the scene, but her view was blocked. Arisa took a deep breath and went up to the circle of students to fight her way through. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t as hard as expected and she stumbled forward only to fall down into the middle.

The first thing to come into her view was a pair of legs, only centimeters away from the tip of her nose. She made the mistake of looking up and was graced with the view of unfortunately familiar underwear, paired with an unfortunately familiar pair of eyes meeting her gaze.

Arisa shrieked and pushed herself away from the girl, with a burning face. She just looked herself under the skirt...Did it count as harrassment when it was her own body that she violated? Maybe it was better for her not to know the answer.

While she remained on the floor shivering and failing to calm down, she almost forgot the other glaring issue.

“Whaaa!!!” she heard her voice shout out and cringed internally. Arisa forgot that that was how others heard her. She snapped out of her embarrassment and stood up. Kasumi could blow their cover any second and she had to prevent that at all cost.

But as she looked back at her own body standing in front of her, she froze.

“What are those?!” Now Arisa knew what Saaya meant with ‘ears’. Two weirdly triangular hair buns sat on top of Kasumi’s—or rather Arisa’s—head. But they had no time for that. She could question it later.

Arisa leapt forward, grabbed Kasumi’s hand and began running. Lucky enough, the crowd let them pass through with only so much as a surprised face and maybe a startled hum.

She didn’t know where she was taking them, but she knew it had to be a place where no one could see or hear them. And so, the girls kept running until they couldn’t anymore.

The place they ended up was the sports field behind the school. It was occupied by the softball team, but it was far enough away and too focused on their game to even notice the two.

Arisa needed a moment to catch her breath before she turned to the girl laying next to her in the grass. Seeing this hairstyle the second time made it even worse. She cleared her throat.

“So, I’m assuming you’re Kasumi Toyama. Is that correct?” She stared down at the girl who still had trouble breathing. That one was on Arisa; she had the worst stamina.

A weak hum came from the laying girl, who opened her eyes to look back at Arisa. Seeing herself in such a position made Arisa feel all kind of things, most of them emotions that didn’t exist. Did Kasumi feel the same right now, looking at her own face?

Kasumi answered that question by caressing Arisa’s cheek and smiling.

“Whoa, I never realized how cute I looked.” The (currently) brunette grabbed her arm with so much force, Kasumi yelped out from the pain.

“Hey, be careful, it’s your body after all!”

“Yes, but it’s you who will feel the pain,” Arisa replied and pushed harder.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I was joking!” She released Kasumi’s arm again and turned away.

_Yep, just what I expected. A whole idiot._

She sighed. Of course, this had to happen to her and of course the person she had switched bodies with had to be a total disaster of a person. Well, it could’ve been a lot worse, but Kasumi was bad enough already, so Arisa didn’t want to undermine her trouble.

“Jeez, you’re a lot meaner than I thought,” the (currently) blonde complained, still rubbing her arm.

“Your grandma said all these nice things about you, I got really excited to meet you! And now…” She let her shoulders drop down and sighed, trying to look Arisa in the eye, who wouldn’t turn her head more.

“Did you tell her? That you’re not me, I mean.” She still wouldn’t look at her.

“Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to do?”

“You _idiot_ ,” Arisa replied harshly. She faced Kasumi again and glared at eyes full of hurt and confusion. She didn’t even want to imagine how that conversation went.

_“Hi, my name is Kasumi and I’m in the body of your granddaughter and I have no idea how much that could emotionally impact you because you’d think I’m delusional and would be worried sick hearing something like that but I don’t care because my head is entirely empty, tehee!”_

“That’s so mean! Was that the wrong thing to do?”

“Of course, you moron! Who in their right mind does that?!” Kasumi frowned.

“Well, what did _you_ do?”

Arisa was about to say ‘I lied to them,’ before realizing how bad it sounded. She adjusted her wording before replying.

“Your family thinks you have amnesia. I didn’t tell them anything about our body swap, not that they would’ve believed it anyway.”

“Huh…” Kasumi went quiet as she had nothing to say for herself. To her it seemed Arisa knew what she was doing, though Kasumi didn’t know it was only an illusion.

“Sorry…” was all she could say to that. The girl next to her relaxed a little.

“How did granny respond to you? Did she send you to therapy yet?” she asked jokingly. Kasumi shook her head.

“No, not at all! From the start, she believed everything I said! Well, that’s what it seemed like, at least.”

_Eh??? How is that possible?_

Kasumi didn’t seem like the type to lie, so she had no reason to doubt her answer, yet Arisa couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of her grandma just...going along with such a bizarre situation.

At least, she didn’t get hurt by Kasumi’s words. She started questioning whether she had done the right thing with Kasumi’s family or if she should’ve told them the truth, as well.

There wasn’t much she could do now though. Her family firmly believed Kasumi lost her memories and it was also made evident by her behavior. If Arisa claimed to be a different person now, it would only backfire.

“Then it’s fine, I guess…” Arisa averted her eyes and got embarrassed. “S—Sorry for yelling at you…”

Kasumi beamed like a puppy, whose owner just got home after a long day of work. She couldn’t hold herself back and embraced Arisa from behind.

“Wha—! Wh—wh—what are you doing?!” Her face turned full crimson and she tried to get herself out of the embrace, but failed. Kasumi’s grip was just too tight.

After a few tries, Arisa gave up and let herself be hugged. _Just this once_ , she said to herself. Little did she know, this wasn’t the last time Kasumi would pull a stunt like this.

While the crazy girl was still stuck to her back, Arisa felt her warmth. She also picked up her scent, which was really just Arisa’s usual shampoo. And then there was also...her chest. Just thinking about it gave her whiplash.

“Okay, okay, enough hugging already! What are we, a married couple?” She grabbed Kasumi’s arms and entangled them, pushing them backwards.

“Aww, that was such a nice moment though~. Do you not like hugs?” Arisa turned around to see Kasumi make a face she could only describe as ‘cursed’. She squinted and turned back.

“From you? No.”

“Ehhh~? That’s so mean…”

“Whatever.”

It’s not like they were close friends or anything. They were essentially strangers, who just happened to be thrown into the same situation. Anyone could’ve taken Kasumi’s or Arisa’s spot for all they knew.

Speaking about their situation, they both had gotten off track.

“Let’s talk about something that actually matters,” Arisa took the lead.

“How do we get our bodies back?”

Kasumi sat up and positioned herself in a way she could look at Arisa’s face. Her expression was enough of an answer, but she still replied verbally.

“I don’t know.”

“Me neither.” Arisa crossed her arms and sighed. What did she expect? To her surprise, Kasumi was the first one to propose an idea.

“Maybe we could look up something on the internet?”

“And you think we’ll find something of value on there?”

“We won’t know until we try it.” She had a point. The internet was possibly the best place to start. Arisa doubted there would be any books on this topic in the library.

“Fine.” Kasumi cheered and pulled out her phone, which was actually Arisa’s.

“Wait, you want to do it now?” Arisa asked to which Kasumi shook her head.

“No, I thought we could exchange numbers to keep in touch.”

“That’s...actually a good idea,” she admitted. Too bad, she hadn’t considered it at all and forgot Kasumi’s phone at home.

“Sorry, I don’t have your phone right now.”

“That’s fine, you just have to give me your number.”

“...Wait, if it’s my phone, shouldn’t you just call your own number?”

You could see the gears inside Kasumi’s head spin. After a moment, she let out a sheepish laugh and started typing something into the phone. However, Arisa was also facepalming herself internally, as she could’ve called Kasumi anytime and didn’t have to go through the trouble of coming to school and interact with people.

Turns out, they were both idiots.

“Alright, I sent you a text. Please, reply when you get home,” Kasumi said. Arisa nodded.

“Of course.”

With nothing left to say, the two kept sitting on the grass and watched the softball team play their game. Arisa wondered why Kasumi was being so quiet, as she felt like the girl was the talkative type, but still very much welcomed the silence. The last day had been so hectic and stressful, she had been in need of a time-out.

A few minutes passed before the bell rang and they had to get back to class. After they split up in the hallway, Arisa entered the classroom and was greeted by Saaya giving her a knowing smile.

“Did you take care of your business?” she asked provocatively. Arisa became flustered without exactly knowing why.

“Um, yeah, I guess I did.” She cleared her throat and averted her eyes. Did Saaya see her with Kasumi and started making assumptions? Maybe.

In the end, it didn’t really matter. Soon, Arisa would get her body back and forget that all of this even happened. Her life would just continue as if nothing happened. At least, that was what she was hoping for.

Everything she did in this moment would be on Kasumi’s account, so what Saaya thought of her wasn’t something Arisa was too concerned with. She could burn down the school and it would have no consequences on her life as Arisa Ichigaya. Not that she wanted to do that anyway. Inconveniencing Kasumi right now wouldn’t be beneficial to her.

Besides, the shame and guilt from her actions would still be her burden to carry. She couldn’t push that onto Kasumi. But why was she thinking about that in the first place? Kasumi may was an airhead, but she still had a good heart. Arisa had no intention on sabotaging her life and she knew Kasumi felt the same.

They both tried their best to act like one another and to not let the people around them worry too much. It could’ve been a lot worse than this.

Before she knew it, classes were over and Arisa could go home. Thank god, Kasumi wasn’t in any clubs, especially not a sports club. She really wouldn’t want to exercise after being so exhausted from all the social interaction.

At the school gate, Arisa stopped. Should she be waiting for Asuka? The two of them didn’t even discuss if they were going to be going home together or not. And of course she didn’t have Kasumi’s phone to text her.

Lucky for her she didn’t need it. Asuka appeared only seconds later, hugging her sister tightly.

“Onee-chan, are you alright? Did anything happen?”

“No, I’m feeling fine. Thank you, Aa-chan.” Arisa gave her smile which made her seem to relax again.

“Thank god!” She let go of her sister and they started walking to the train station. Arisa took a last glance at the school gate and saw Kasumi hiding behind the brick wall.

The girl waved at her and Arisa waved back, but the former hid again when Asuka turned around.

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah! Uh, no, not at all,” Arisa blurted out and shook her head. They continued walking and Arisa decided not to look back anymore.

Kasumi must miss her family. Of course, Arisa also missed her grandparents, but a bond between siblings was a bit stronger than that. She got an impression of how close the sisters were, so she could only imagine what Kasumi was going through.

On their way home they talked about their day. Asuka told her how she skipped swimming practice just to be able to go home with her and about other shenanigans that had happened at school. Meanwhile Arisa only complained how boring her day was and that she didn’t really remember anything important.

When they got home, Arisa went upstairs to get Kasumi’s phone. She had some trouble finding it, but in the end found it hidden underneath some papers on Kasumi’s desk. It had a cute chilli-red phone case around it with lots of star stickers.

She unlocked the phone and was met with more notifications she had ever received on her own phone. Most of them were from mobile games Arisa considered a waste of time, but if Kasumi wanted to do that, she wouldn’t stop her.

Another fraction were texts from her friends and family. She saw Asuka had sent her a few videos about star constellations with a text saying, ‘These used to make you feel at ease, I hope they still do’. She also got some texts from Saaya, asking why she hadn’t been at school, though some other people she didn’t recognize asked her the same.

The rest of the notifications was from social media. Apparently, Kasumi was subscribed to a few channels on a certain video platform and also had some accounts on popular social media sites.

Arisa felt stupid for not thinking of Kasumi’s cell phone, when she wanted to know what the girl was like. Her phone contained so much personal information, she didn’t even have to do all the digging through her room. She paused for a moment and tried remembering if she had anything embarrassing on her phone she didn’t want Kasumi to see.

There were a few things that came to mind, but it wasn’t anything too bad. She could live with Kasumi knowing these things. Thinking of Kasumi, Arisa checked to see if she could find her message anywhere.

**Unknown number:** Hiiii, it’s Kasumi! ＼(≧▽≦)／ _12.24PM_

That didn’t prove difficult. She wondered what to name the contact, since naming it ‘Kasumi’ would be weird, since it’s her phone, but naming it ‘Arisa’ would make herself feel weird. She concluded there would be no way around it and saved her number as ‘Arisa Ichigaya’.

**Me:** Hey, Arisa here. I wanted to let you know, that I arrived at home. I will soon begin with the internet research. _3.32PM_

Arisa wanted to put down the phone, but was surprised to find that Kasumi had already sent her a reply.

**Arisa Ichigaya:** Okie-dokie! (⌒▽⌒)☆ _3.32PM_

She didn’t know whether she should be impressed or concerned by her fast reply. Probably both. She put down the phone, for real this time.

It was time to get to work. Arisa looked around the room in hopes of finding a laptop, but couldn’t see one. This only left her with the option to use her phone.

While it wasn’t too terrible or horribly inconvenient, she would have prefered a laptop since she’d have a better overview over the information she would find.

And so Arisa jumped back on Kasumi’s bed and grabbed her phone again. She opened the search engine and started typing.

A few results came up and she skimmed through the sites. Most of it was talking about existing fiction, but the ones that referenced real life body swaps only told you how to achieve a swap, not how to undo it.

Arisa continued reading and tapping and swiping, but nothing seemed to be of use. The internet could be so unhelpful sometimes. She decided to visit some forums, as those sometimes contained exactly the information you were looking for. Maybe, she would get lucky.

After having gone through a bunch of threads, it turned out she wasn’t as lucky as she wished to be. The users were discussing all kinds of supernatural occurrences, but switching bodies was only mentioned once in a half-sentence.

With a loud groan, she let herself fall on her back. It wasn’t like she’d had much hope for this from the beginning, but since Kasumi had believed it to be at least somewhat educational, she let herself be convinced by that.

Arisa stared back at the screen she was holding over her face. She had scrolled down to the end of a thread, where a box for her own comment had been prepared for her. Commenting might help her get an answer. Or better yet, opening her own thread.

Looking through all the forums, Arisa tried picking the most promising—meaning, one that was serious about the topic, but tried to take reality into their equation. In the end, she settled for a forum which discussed unexplained supernatural experiences and seemed to fit her criteria for seriousness and groundedness.

She quickly made an account and typed in her question.

**A.I. asks:** _“Hello everyone, I’m new on here, but I have an unusual situation on my hand. A few days ago, I woke up in the body of another girl I hadn’t known before. Coincidentally, we go to the same school and when I met her she was occupying my body. My question is: How do we get our bodies to switch back? I will appreciate any help I can get.”_

Now she had to wait. Her only hope was that it wouldn’t take too long for someone to reply, or that somebody would reply at all since there was no guarantee for that.

In the meantime she went downstairs to see if she could help with any chores. She was used to helping her grandma all the time, so this might be a good way to pass some time.

“You want to help me with dinner?” Kasumi’s mother asked a little surprised.

“Yes, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is.” She looked around wondering what Arisa could help with. “You can help me cut some vegetables. Here.” She gave her a knife.

“Thanks,” Arisa replied and got to work.

An hour later, dinner was done. Arisa took out the dishes and placed them on the table, while Kasumi’s mother called Asuka to eat with them. Kasumi’s sister came downstairs and the three of them started eating.

They didn’t say much and when everyone was finished they all split up again and did their own thing. Kasumi’s mother went to wash the dishes, even though Arisa suggested she’d be the one to do that. Asuka layed down on the couch and turned on the TV.

Back upstairs, Arisa grabbed her phone and hoped to see some replies to her question. She reopened the browser and clicked on her thread, which was still only consisting of her question. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed, but the only thing she could do was wait some more.

She thought of something she could do to pass the time, when she remembered that she wasn’t alone in this. Maybe Kasumi had managed to acquire some leads. It couldn’t hurt to ask.

**Me:** Hey, did you find anything that could potentially help us yet? _6.09PM_

**Arisa Ichigaya:** Hmm, not yet, but I’m still looking! ∑d(°∀°d) _6.10PM_

Another fast reply. Well, at least she didn’t have to wait for one this time.

**Arisa Ichigaya:** What about you? (*^‿^*) _6.10PM_

**Me:** Yeah, me too. Not much so far… _6.10PM_

So Kasumi was just as smart as her in this regard. Maybe she was too impatient. Arisa tried taking a step back. How did this happen in the first place? What if the answer she was seeking was rooted in the beginning? Wasn’t that a common thing with situations like this one? She could’ve sworn she’s seen this type of solution in fiction before.

Could she perhaps analyze some fiction? Even if it didn’t apply to the real world, it had to be stemming from somewhere, right? Besides, trying didn’t cost them much. It’s not like they would die from it.

With that idea in mind, Arisa opened a new tab and began her search, now from a different perspective. She searched for literature that dealt with the idea of switching bodies (or minds for that matter). Some results came up and Arisa skimmed through them. She didn’t intend to read every single book she could find on the subject and instead looked for a summary.

“I need something to write,” she muttered to herself and stood up to get a pen and a sheet of paper. Properly equipped, she got to work.

Arisa didn’t know how long she’d been working on this, but in the end she had a list of various books and their individual solutions to the body switch (if there even was one in the book and it wasn’t blamed on random magic). There were some solutions that overlapped each other, but not enough to call it a definitive one.

She looked at the time and noticed how late it has gotten. It was time to call it a day. Arisa began making herself ready for bed. She didn’t leave the light on, when she undressed, so she’d see as little of Kasumi’s body as possible. Otherwise, she felt like she was violating her privacy, but that was a breakdown she had already went through.

In her pajamas, Arisa got into bed and checked her phone one last time. One notification immediately caught her eye. Someone had replied to her question on the forum. Excited, the girl went to check out the comment.

**LocalWitch replied:** _“I’ve heard of this before, though this experience is not common. The soul only parts when the mind desires it. If two people wanted to exchange bodies, they would need a lot of will and zero doubt in their heart. This is a lot less common than one would think. What’s throwing me off here, is the fact that the two of you didn’t know each other. Maybe it was your unconscious that saw the girl, but for her to do the same at the exact same time...I call that a miracle.”_

Arisa scrolled down. That was all well and good, but how could she undo that?

_“Or maybe there’s another explanation, I don’t know your situation. I can only assume from what you have told. Now, how you got into the situation is something you can’t change anymore, it happened and you want to know how to obtain your body back. I can’t tell you much, but one thing is certain: It did not happen without a reason. And that reason will play a huge part in reversing your situation.”_

So far, this was a lot more detailed than Arisa anticipated. Of course, she hadn’t counted on a two-liner saying something like, ‘Do this and you get your body back for sure,’ but a comment of this extent was more than she could’ve ever hoped for.

_“Your best shot is trying to find out why this happened to you two. Try finding similarities between you, especially regarding the moment the switch happened. What was the cause? If you can find it, maybe you can reverse it. For example, maybe you two were yearning for something the other had in the moment. The solution would be to obtain it for yourself and then the switch will be undone. I can’t give you any guarantee though, as this has never happened to me or anyone I know personally. It would be nice of you to share your experiences along the way and maybe post about the actual solution to your problem, if you find it. Good luck!”_

This was the end of the comment. Arisa let the words flow around her head and tried to make sense of them somehow. Similarities between her and Kasumi...there were a few that came to mind, but nothing she would deem relevant.

She was too tired to continue thinking about it. She would show this to Kasumi the next day and then they could think about it together.


	2. When we became friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, this chapter is one of the shorter ones but that's alright I think  
> also thank you for the feedback on the first chapter I really didn't expect to get comments and I'm so thankful for them!! I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story :)
> 
> (also I finally figured out how to properly format, so the chapters should look nicer now, I also edited the previous one)

“That’s what I have so far.” Arisa took a bite from her food, while Kasumi was busy enthusing over Arisa’s findings.

“Holy crap, Arisa! That’s amazing! How did you do this? I only have…” She presented a small sheet of paper with scribbles all over it and let out a sheepish laugh.

Surprisingly enough, Arisa didn’t mind Kasumi’s inability to gather useful information and seemed rather pleased to have an opportunity for showing off. It gave her a feeling of power and superiority. Besides, Kasumi having to rely on Arisa made the former look weirdly cute, wherever that thought came from.

_Focus Arisa! This is not the time for that!_

She cleared her throat and put her bento box down. Her notes were all laid out in front of them with her phone, displaying the comment on the forum, right in the middle. The question was what the two of them could draw from that and if any of the methods would work for them.

Kasumi took a sheet and read through it with a sceptical face. Turning to Arisa she asked, “Do you think it’s magic?”

The (currently) brunette raised her brow. “Are you serious?” Kasumi responded with a nod.

“What else would it be? We need to find a magician, who can help us!”

Suddenly, Arisa knew why Kasumi’s research—if one could even call it that—had been so unsuccessful. This had got to be the stupidest thing she’d heard in her entire life.

“A magician. And where would you find one?” she asked sarcastically.

“There has to be one somewhere! I mean, maybe someone on this forum knows magic? Maybe the person that wrote the co—”

“No.”

Kasumi blinked. Arisa’s tone was harsh and her look sharp.

“The comment said nothing about magic. It doesn’t exist in our world.”

“Then how do you explain this?” Kasumi gestured at themselves and returned her look with a stare demanding of answers. Arisa let out breath before she continued.

“This is merely a supernatural occurrence. This has nothing to do with magic, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s probably...something spiritual.” Arisa didn’t fully stand behind her theory, but it was enough to make Kasumi revoke her previous claims.

“You’re probably right,” she admitted. Arisa wanted to make a comment about her use of ‘probably’, but decided against it. Kasumi had this expression of a child, that had confidently shouted out an answer in class, only to find out it had been incorrect. How could she be mad at that?

Arisa sighed again. They haven’t made any progress yet, so it was time they finally decided on some sort of plan. She grabbed the phone and read the comment again.

_Similarities…_

“Hey Kasumi. What do you remember about the night before we switched bodies?”

“Hmm...Not much. I don’t think anything unusual happened, why?” Arisa silently growled.

“Same here. Nothing happened. Does that count as a similarity?” When she noticed Kasumi’s confused gaze, she showed her the comment.

“I don’t get it. We aren’t similar at all, so either the comment doesn’t apply to us or there’s something were overlooking here,” Arisa theorized. Kasumi stayed quiet for a moment.

“What makes you so certain we don’t share anything similar?” she asked with unexpected sentiment in her voice. Arisa was taken aback.

“Well, I mean, I’m literally in your shoes right now. I know your living situation, your family, your friends and none of it overlaps with mine,” she explained.

“And my personality? What do you know about me?” Kasumi pushed further. Arisa let out a chuckle.

“Sorry, but what is there to know about your personality? Last time I checked, ‘easily excitable idiot’ summed you up pretty well,” she said with a smug grin.

The girl next to her didn’t respond. Her gaze was fixed on her clenched fists that were resting on her thighs. It took Arisa a second to realize what she had done.

“Kasumi, I—” She was stopped by Kasumi’s palm, which went up and signaled her to stop.

Wordless, she rose from the ground and walked back towards the school building. Arisa knew not to follow her; she would only make things worse. Why did she say that?

Arisa cursed herself for judging the girl after she’s known her for, what, two days? That wasn’t right. But in her mind the part of her that couldn’t grasp the idea of Kasumi being a complex personality, capable of feeling deep emotion, lingered. Nothing she’d seen seemed to indicate that.

Even now, her brain interpreted Kasumi’s hurt feelings as ‘a temporary reaction’ and predicted she’d be over it, the next time they’d meet. But her heart knew better. She had to apologize and at least give her a chance to show Arisa her true self.

“Who's the idiot now?” she whispered to herself.

* * *

“You don’t look too good. What’s up?” Saaya asked the girl surrounded by thunderclouds. Arisa had her head buried in her arms and didn’t look up when Kasumi’s friend sat down next to her.

She felt Saaya’s hand rubbing her back and her sweet scent managed to calm her down a little.

“Is it something you want to talk about?” Saaya asked carefully. She had never seen Kasumi so depressed, though she wasn’t aware it actually wasn’t her friend who sat before her.

Arisa peeked between her arms and slowly raised her head, when she saw Saaya idly smiling back at her.

“I...I made a huge mistake,” she began talking, her voice weak and shaky.

“I hurt someone, who’s...important to me in a way…” Not quite a lie. Kasumi played an important role in her life at this moment in time, so she didn’t see it as lying.

“I have to apologize, but I don’t know if she’ll accept it…”

“Just go for it!” Saaya replied definitively. “She’ll feel if it’s from your heart. And if it is, you have nothing to fear.”

Hearing these words Arisa felt a force within her awakening. Saaya was right! As hurtful as Arisa’s assumptions about Kasumi were, there were still a lot of positive traits hidden inside. It might only be Kasumi on the surface-level, but it was still a part of her. If Arisa trusted in the friendly and well-meaning Kasumi she saw, their story would not be at the end yet.

“Thank you, Saaya.” Arisa couldn’t be more happy to have her by her side while she was in this state. Kasumi was really lucky with her friends, but she also had much more to return.

She went over to class 1-B and took a peek inside. A few students stayed behind, but Kasumi wasn’t one of them. She lowered her gaze and headed outside.

Should she apologize over a text message? It was better than nothing, but it felt so stiff and insincere. Arisa had no idea what to do.

That’s when she remembered, after school, Kasumi would most likely head home. Arisa’s home. Without a second thought, she began running.

She didn't even have to think about directions, she'd be able to find the way back home in her sleep. All she had to concentrate on was her running.

She ran for so long, she was surprised how long she lasted. It was thanks to Kasumi's body that had a lot more stamina than Arisa’s. Still, she wasn't used to running that fast for such a big amount of time.

And after a while, a certain figure caught her attention. There was no way she could miss these ridiculous hair buns. With her goal in sight, Arisa accelerated.

"Kasumi!!!" The (currently) blonde turned around and stopped to wait for Arisa to catch up. The girl took a second to catch her breath, before facing Kasumi with sorrowful eyes.

"Kasumi, I am terribly sorry for everything I said! It was incredibly insensitive and plain wrong to even think that way! I would understand if you're still mad, but please—" She bowed down as deep as she could.

"Give me a chance to get to know you! I want to know more about you, the real you! I want to spend more time with you, talk about various thing with you, just…have fun with you! I—" Her eyes met Kasumi's.

"I want to be friends with you."

Arisa’s heart felt like it wanted to escape her body. She felt her face burn and her sight became blurry from the tears rising up in her eyes.

Still, she could see Kasumi's expression turn from surprise to acceptance. Soft eyes and a warm smile graced her face. She took Arisa’s hand and placed it between hers.

"I want to be friends with you, too, Arisa," she said in the most comforting voice. Arisa couldn't hold her tears anymore and bursted out crying. Kasumi embraced her and rested her chin on Arisa’s head.

They stayed like this for minutes, for as long as Arisa would be crying. She didn't want to think how much of a burden she was being on the girl holding her right now, but then again, said girl didn't seem to mind.

Either way, it was an emotional moment for both of them, as Kasumi also lost a few tears. Arisa only noticed when she calmed down and the two of them separated.

"How about we go to my place, or should I say, your place?" Kasumi suggested. "It's nearby." 

"I know where my own house is," Arisa responded, still wiping some leftover tears from her face. It was nice seeing that she had regained her spunk.

Kasumi let out a giggle and grabbed Arisa’s hand again. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Before Arisa could react, Kasumi had turned around and begun running at full speed. The (currently) brunette almost tripped, but somehow managed to keep up and even outlast the energetic girl, who was now stuck with the lowest stamina in human history. Okay, maybe not, but that was what it felt like.

Completely tired and out of breath, the girls arrived at Arisa’s house. As soon as they passed the gate, Arisa rushed to her bonsai to check if they were doing good without her. Surprisingly enough, they were standing strong and didn't show many signs of malpractice.

"Your grandma takes care of them while you're absent," Kasumi clarified. That sounded reasonable. Arisa patted the little branches and murmured something along the lines of, "Don't worry, momma's going to be back soon, wait just a little longer, okay?"

She turned back to Kasumi who held back a giggle and together, they went inside the house. A small wave of nostalgia overcame Arisa as she got to see her home again. It’s only been a few days, but she had really missed the comfort of her own house.

“Arisa’s grandma~! Please come, I have a surprise for you!” Kasumi shouted, making Arisa’s heart beat faster again. How would her grandma react to her?

Before she could make herself even more nervous, the elderly woman came out into the hallway and made a surprised face.

“Oh my! Is that—”

“Arisa! Yes, it’s her!” Kasumi cut her off. Arisa’s grandma took a few steps forward and her expression turned into a warm smile.

“Arisa, my dear! Welcome back.” Arisa had to hold back some tears. She has been gone for only three days, why was she getting so emotional? On impulse, she leapt forward and tightly hugged her grandma, who only let out a surprised moan.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered. Her grandma hugged her back and replied with a soft, “Me too, dear.”

It was only when she let go of the woman, that Arisa stopped being sentimental.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling? Kasumi isn’t making too much trouble, is she?” Her grandma laughed in response, but didn’t really answer her questions.

“It’s good to know, you’re still your usual self, Arisa. I was a bit worried, when I heard what happened. You don’t do too well with new environments, let alone new people, so I’m glad to know you’re doing fine.”

Arisa didn’t know what to say. Of course, she didn’t like the fact that her grandma had to worry about her, but on the other hand Arisa had made so many new experiences just because she’d been kicked out of her comfort zone. She had even managed to make a friend, though she low-key wished, she had done so under less complicated circumstances.

But the most important thing was, that she was here now, with her grandma holding her hand.

“Dinner will be ready soon, how about you two spend a little time together in the meantime?” Kasumi’s eyes sparkled and she nodded vigorously.

“Yes!!! Will do! Arisa, let’s go!” Before Arisa could protest, Kasumi grabbed her hand and dragged her upstairs to Arisa’s room. She was shocked to see, how much of a mess Kasumi had made in it, considering how tidy Kasumi’s room had been when she had first woken up there.

“What did you do here?!” she loudly complained, not knowing where to look. Her belongings were scattered all over the floor and the shelves were messed up, not to mention the furniture.

Kasumi scratched the back of her head and sheepishly laughed. “I may have forgotten to clean up, ehehe…”

She leaned forward to get a glimpse of Arisa’s face, when the latter didn’t momentarily respond. Nothing could’ve prepared her for the sight of Arisa’s wrath, which would even leave the gods begging for mercy. Not even in her dreams could Kasumi have imagined her face to be able to distort itself to the point in which it would almost not look human anymore.

“I’m so sorry, Arisa! I will clean this up, I swear! Please, don’t kill meeee~!!!” Kasumi shrieked and held her hands in front of her face as to protect herself from the force she had awakened. Arisa’s face drew closer and with a husky tone she growled, “You better do.”

The (currently) blonde felt a shiver run down her spine and nodded frantically. It took a few moments for her to be able to relax again, even after Arisa had pulled away. Kasumi made a mental note to never provoke Arisa’s wrath ever again.

She began picking up some clothes and folding them, as the owner of said clothes watched her every move. She asked herself if this would continue until she had cleaned the entirety of the room and soon enough, she knew that the answer was yes.

Exhausted from the physical labor and the emotional stress, she fell onto the bed with a defeated groan. How long had she been cleaning for? The clock revealed to her that it must’ve been well over an hour, since dinner time was close.

Arisa gave her work a satisfied nod and sat down next to her. “And keep it that way,” she added, giving Kasumi a fear-inducing glare. The tired girl gulped and let out a shaky hum as confirmation that she had learnt her lesson.

Because Kasumi was still too tired to speak and Arisa was still mad about her room, both girls stayed silent. It was almost awkward, but at the same time it felt just right. After both girls had been angry at the other for their own reasons, a time-out was opportune.

Just in time, they heard a light knock on the door.

“Dinner is ready,” a muffled voice announced. Kasumi jumped to her feet and it seemed her fatigue had left without a trace. Arisa failed to share her enthusiasm and stood up like a normal person.

As they made their way to the dining room, Kasumi kept humming a variety of melodies. _How can you be so excited for dinner?_ Arisa thought to herself, not counting her joy about getting to eat her grandma’s food again. That was a completely different thing after all.

Having arrived at their destination, the girls were greeted with a packed table. Arisa’s grandma had really gone out this time.

“But granny, isn’t that a bit much? You didn’t have to exert yourself so much for us. Why didn’t you ask for help?” Arisa’s concerns fell on deaf ears and the girl was pushed to the table.

“I’m feeling fine, Arisa. Now, stop overthinking and enjoy your meal.” Her grandma squeezed her shoulder and sat down, as well. Reluctantly, Arisa started eating, all while Kasumi had already finished half of her plate.

Arisa’s grandma was pleased to see Kasumi enjoy the food she had prepared and became even happier when she saw Arisa’s content smile as the (currently) brunette took bite after bite from her fish.

“Alright, granny, you go rest now, we’ll handle the clean-up,” Arisa stated after they were done eating. Her grandma wanted to object, but was cut off and concluded it was useless to resist. She chuckled and pat Arisa’s head before she left the kitchen.

Her granddaughter turned to the remaining girl in the room. “Don’t think you can talk yourself out of this. Get to work!”

A startled Kasumi blurted out a “Yes, ma’am!” before rushing to the table and bringing all the dirty dishes to the sink.

Arisa started washing them and Kasumi had to dry them afterwards. They did so without any words, Kasumi’s joyful humming being the only sound, besides the running water. And Arisa liked it. She even started lightly swinging her head from side to side to the melody.

It took a while until they were done, but it felt good. Arisa let her gaze wander around the cleaned-up kitchen and put on a satisfied smirk. However, her partner didn’t seem to feel the same. All Kasumi wanted was to be able to relax again after all the cleaning she had done that day.

The girls returned to Arisa’s room. The (currently) brunette sat down at her desk, while Kasumi made a big jump on Arisa’s bed, much to the former’s disgruntlement.

“Anyway,” Arisa tried getting back to their current situation, “we still haven’t really decided, how we’re going to try to get our own bodies back.”

“Eh~? We didn’t?” Kasumi put on a puzzled expression. “Wasn’t there something about us being similar?”

Arisa shook her head. _Unbelievable._

“The comment from the forum told us to find some similarities between us that could lead us to the reason why our bodies have been swapped,” she explained. “The important part is the reason for this, do you understand?”

Kasumi didn’t look as if she did, but nodded anyway.

“It actually overlaps a little bit with the things I found in various fiction.” Arisa didn’t feel like taking out her notes, so she tried to remember the relevant contents.

“A few of them involved motives like wanting to be like another person or wanting something they possessed.” And then the universe gave it to them in the most roundabout way anyone could imagine. Could the same apply here?

“So, Kasumi, was there something you wanted the night before we switched?”

“Hmm…” Kasumi looked at the ceiling and made a variety of weird thinking-faces. “I don’t remember the night too clearly. I’d like to say it was a regular night, but...I think there might be something…”

Arisa scooted closer, her eyes burning with curiosity. This could be their very first lead! Kasumi thought for a few more seconds.

“Yeah, there was a feeling...I wanted…”

Arisa grew impatient and began bouncing her leg. What was it, what was it?

“...Something…”

_Say it already!_ The world felt like it was going by in slow-motion, she nearly lost her mind.

“...Sparkling and heart-pounding!”

Arisa almost fell from her chair and her eye started twitching. _This didn’t help at all!!!_

But why did she build her expectations in the first place? This was Kasumi they were talking about.

She let out a groan and pinched the bridge of her nose. Honestly, why did she even bother with this girl? But she decided to give her another chance (for some reason). Maybe Kasumi was just bad at communicating her feelings.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked, hoping for a better answer.

“Well, something that...just...sparkles! And makes your heart pound really fast! Mmm...it’s hard to explain actually…”

“You don’t say,” Arisa replied sarcastically. Kasumi still struggled with finding the right words.

“It’s...Maybe you’ll understand if I tell you the story behind it.”

“There’s a whole story behind that???” Arisa braced herself for the worst.

“Yes, it happened when Aa-chan and I were still little. I don’t remember our exact age though. Well, it’s not that important anyway!” Kasumi paused for a moment.

“Basically, we went on a camping trip with our parents. Aa-chan and I were playing around a little bit and suddenly, we got lost. It was nighttime already, so we were really scared. And that’s when I felt it with all of my senses, that sparkling heart-pounding sensation, when we looked at the stars!” She showed an excited smile.

“And I wasn’t even afraid anymore! I grabbed Aa-chan by the hand and we made it back safely. Ever since that day I've been searching for this experience, I want to find it again!” She finished talking and waited for Arisa’s response.

“So, besides the fact that feeling is only one of your senses,” Arisa commented dryly, “this indeed cleared some things up...I think.” She still wasn’t sure if she interpreted her story correctly.

“The way I see it is: You saw the stars as a kid and thought they were so overwhelmingly pretty that you’re now longing for a similar experience.” Kasumi wanted to say something, but decided not to. Instead, she looked down at the floor, unsure what to do next.

“Now this raises the question: What does have to do with me?” Arisa continued their discussion. To her knowledge, she didn’t want any experience like that. She had been happy living a quiet, unbothered life, without all the stress that came from interacting with others or going out somewhere.

“Well, what do you remember from that night?” Kasumi asked back. The truth was, Arisa didn’t know that well either.

“Just like you, I don’t remember much. It’s all hazy, I don’t remember details. All I know is that I went to sleep in my bed and I think I fell asleep rather quick.”

“So, no thoughts before sleep?” Arisa shook her head. She was surprised herself. She was the queen of overthinking, that was why she had so many troubles falling asleep, but that night it had been different. Maybe that meant something or was she thinking too much into it again?

Both girls sighed in defeat. Why did this have to be so difficult?

Arisa spun around in her chair, while Kasumi made herself comfortable in Arisa’s bed. Should they try something else? Arisa had a full list of things after all.

A look at her window made her rethink that again. It had gotten dark outside and she felt too tired to think about the topic any more. Kasumi seemed to think the same as she was already half-asleep.

“Guess I’ll have to get back home,” Arisa muttered as not to startle Kasumi.

“Hmm~,” was all she got as an answer. Reluctantly, she stood up and picked up her school bag from the floor.

“Aren’t you going to see me to the door?” Kasumi groaned into her pillow and pushed herself up from the bed. Rubbing her eyes, she followed Arisa to the exit.

“I see you tomorrow then,” Arisa said and opened the door. Kasumi waved and mumbled a sleepy, “Byee~.” Arisa couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Kasumi was kind of cute when she did that.

With a warm feeling in her chest, she left her house and returned to Kasumi’s home.

* * *

“So, how’s your amnesia doing? You remembered anything?” Asuka asked Arisa at breakfast. The latter swallowed the food, which had been in her mouth and stared down at her bowl. She almost forgot about the lie she had told Kasumi’s family.

That’s when she remembered her conversation with Kasumi from the previous day. Only now she realized how perfect it was. Getting to know Kasumi better meant she could keep this farce up and slowly ‘regain’ her memories.

“Um, yeah, I think I remembered something…” All eyes were on her, but she continued talking. “It was, I think, a camping trip or something? And I think Asuka and I got lost and then there was...there was this beautiful sea of stars in the sky…” Asuka stared at her sister.

Arisa carried on with her little performance. “Mhm, it was...sparkling and heart-pounding.”

Suddenly, Asuka slammed her hands on the table and looked at her with such an intense look, it made Arisa nervous. Did she say something wrong? Was her acting bad? Maybe she laid on too thick...Or it wasn’t realistic enough to remember such a moment by itself?

“Onee-chan is back!!!” Asuka cried and went around the table to hug Arisa. Kasumi’s mother came up as well and placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. Arisa let out a breath of relief and smiled back at the two. Kasumi probably missed them, too.

“I—I mean, it’s just one memory. How can you be so sure?” Arisa asked, Asuka still hugging her.

“Sparkling and heart-pounding,” Asuka repeated, “only you could come up with something like that. You used to say it all the time, to all kinds of things.”

Arisa could see that. She smiled to herself. Anticipation rose inside of her. She was looking forward to seeing Kasumi at school again and talk to her. Maybe she would even invite her to go to Kasumi’s house. It only felt fair, after Arisa was able to see her grandma again.

But at the same time, it might was a bit too risky. Her family didn’t know Arisa and Kasumi making friends while suffering from amnesia might seemed a little suspicious.

She’d have to think about that later, it was time for her to get ready. She finished her breakfast, grabbed her school bag and put on her shoes.

“I’m off,” she called out and heard Kasumi’s mother reply, as usual.

“Have a nice day!”

Arisa closed the door behind her and began walking. Her memories from the previous day floated around her head. She really didn’t mean to hurt Kasumi, but in the end that was what brought them closer.

This might’ve been the first time Arisa asked anyone to be her friend. In her childhood, the other kids always asked her first or didn’t ask at all and just followed her around. Middle school was when they stopped asking altogether.

It lead Arisa to become very insecure and take her distance. Of course no one would want to be her friend if she would close herself off like that, but little Arisa took it personally. She slowly stopped coming to school and didn’t even bother with high school anymore. It couldn’t be too different after all.

And now, look at her. Going to school to see a friend, that she made herself. Okay, maybe the universe helped a little by making them switch their bodies, but other than that, it was all Arisa! She couldn’t stop smiling.

When she arrived at school, Kasumi was already waiting for her at the gate and waved when she saw the (currently) brunette. Arisa sighed and went up to her. She didn’t like to attract too much attention, so she’d really preferred if Kasumi wouldn’t do that, but knowing her it would be very hard to make her stop.

“Okay Kasumi, you can stop waving now, I saw you and I’m here now. Good morning.” Kasumi giggled and returned her greeting.

“Good morning, Arisa! I feel so energized today~! I must’ve slept very well.” Arisa didn’t need proof to believe that. Kasumi had been so tired yesterday, she probably fell asleep right after Arisa left.

“Good for you,” she replied, not knowing what else to say. Kasumi did a twirl and giggled once more.

“Good morning, Kasumi,” someone called out. The two girls turned their heads and saw Saaya come up to them.

“Oh, good morning, Saaya!” Kasumi replied without thinking, apparently. Arisa mentally facepalmed and thought about how she could save them.

“Please stop cutting in, Arisa, it’s rude,” Arisa said to Kasumi, scolding her with her glare, and turned to Saaya again, “Good morning, Saaya. You’ll have to excuse Arisa for her behavior, she can be a bit...impulsive.”

Kasumi better appreciate Arisa’s attempt at saving their butts by sacrificing her pride like that. Though, her reputation already had no chance of recovering, so why was she even bothering at this point?

Saaya blinked and tried to say something. “Um, okay? Nice to meet you, Arisa. I’m Saaya, but you seem to know that already…”

Her face showed that she was waiting for an explanation. Kasumi opened her mouth. _Please, don’t mess this up Kasumi. Take a hint!_ Arisa thought to herself and watched what would happen next.

“Oh, um...yeah! Kasumi talked a lot about you! She constantly gushes about how tasty the bread from your bakery is," Kasumi replied.

Arisa let out a relieved breath and gave Kasumi a look that said, _Good Job!_ The (currently) blonde smiled back, as if to say, _Thanks! It was a close one!_

Saaya raised a brow, but didn't ask any further questions. She seemed to have accepted the answer and moved on to the next topic.

"How's your amnesia doing?" she asked Arisa, who was now prepared for the question.

"I think it's getting better, more and more things start coming back to me." Saaya showed a smile.

"That's great! Nice to hear that." They slowly started walking to their classrooms.

“But Kasumi never fails to amaze me,” Saaya continued. Arisa raised her eyebrows.

“How so?” Her classmate giggled.

“I mean, you literally can’t remember most of your life, you didn’t even remember your sister or me, yet you managed to make a new friend.” She glanced at Kasumi. “And a close one at that, it seems.”

Arisa’s face became red and she felt her heart skip a beat. She tried brushing it off, since it seemed too uncharacteristic for Kasumi and she didn’t want to further fuel Saaya’s suspicion.

“Hmm, well...We, uh…” She looked back at Kasumi, whose expression she couldn’t read. She could only hope she would play along to her excuses.

“It’s a really funny story. So, uh, remember when I skipped school a few days ago?”

“You told me you were at the hospital, because of the amnesia.” Arisa nodded.

“Yes, but it’s what’s happened after that. When I got home I got a weird text from an unknown number.” She wanted to pull out her phone to show her, before remembering the text didn’t exist. She cleared her throat and continued.

“Turns out, they had the wrong number, but we kept chatting and then we found out, that we lived in the same town and even went to the same school! How crazy is that?”

Saaya hummed knowingly. “So that’s who you were looking for the day you came back to school again.”

“Exactly!” Arisa cheered and pointed a finger gun at her. This action drained all of her life energy and she sincerely hoped she’d never had to do that ever again. It was probably for the better, that she didn’t see Kasumi behind her holding back her laughter.

“Wow, that sure are a lot of coincidences,” Saaya said. “Seems like the stars aligned for you two.”

Kasumi’s eyes sparkled and she wanted to jump up, but held herself back. Pretending to be Arisa was still hard for her, especially with her untamed energy. That was why she was excited to learn more about her new friend.

“Yeah, I guess they did,” she answered instead, trying to keep her voice down as Arisa would usually do. The latter was surprised over Kasumi’s effort, but very much appreciated it.

_Maybe Kasumi is not as big of an idiot as I thought she was._

They arrived at their classrooms and Kasumi left to go to class 1-B. “See you later,” she said with a small wave and went inside. Arisa waved back and headed inside her own class, as well.

She went to sit down at her desk, but noticed that Saaya didn’t go with her, since their desks were close to each other. Instead Saaya was talking to a girl who sat at the front. She had short black hair and Arisa hadn’t really noticed her before.

Saaya pulled out a paper bag and gave it to the girl, who almost passed out from delight. Arisa squinted her eyes to read what was written on the paper bag.

_Yama...buki...bakery?_ Right, Kasumi did mention Saaya’s family running a bakery. Arisa relaxed her eyes again and leaned back in her chair. This did explain Saaya’s sweet scent.

As the aforementioned girl went back to her desk, she showed a smile to Arisa as she passed by. Arisa returned it, but relaxed her face muscles the second Saaya wouldn’t be able to see her face anymore.

The black-haired girl at the front turned around to look at Saaya for a last time, but got embarrassed and quickly turned around again when she met Arisa’s gaze. Arisa didn’t think much of it, but saw a little bit of herself in the shy girl. She used to do the same thing; avoiding eye contact at all cost.

She found herself rooting for the girl. A friend like Saaya would be perfect for her, no doubt. She couldn’t quite decipher their current relationship, but from what she could tell, Saaya delivered bread or pastry to the black-haired, who had probably ordered it.

Not exactly the most intimate of relationships, but there was potential there. If the girl kept buying from the bakery, she would become friends with Saaya in no time.

Maybe it was Kasumi’s body giving Arisa’s mind a little bit of its energy and courage, but the (currently) brunette made up her mind. She would approach the shy bread-lover and maybe get her to befriend Saaya.


	3. When we made a promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohoho, the two are getting closer and not only emotionally ;)  
> I still can't believe that people are liking this and leaving such nice comments, they make me feel so happy and warm uwu  
> I'm still not entirely sure how long the fic will be, the chapter I am currently writing might be the last one, unless I throw in another twist which would give it a few more chapters  
> my problem is, I never know when to stop and how to write a good ending since I keep getting new ideas, but I also don't want to make this too long until I lose interest and it remains an eternal wip  
> but that's something I'll have to figure out on my own :')  
> for now I'll leave the questionmark until I'm finished, but my estimate is about ten or eleven chapters (I'm on chapter nine currently)

A thousand thoughts ran through Arisa’s head. Why did I decide to do this? Was this a good idea? How am I going to do this? The list went on.

The black-haired girl was sitting on the roof, all by herself, eating the pastries Saaya had given her earlier. Arisa watched her from behind a corner and tried to muster up the courage to talk to her.

_It'll be fine, you can do this!_

She took one last breath before stepping out in the open and carefully approaching the girl.

"Umm...hi there." Great start.

The girl looked up, surprised and a little nervous.

"Y—Yes?" Her voice was very high-pitched, though it might also be her nervousness. Arisa clasped her hands together and thought of what to say next.

She knew her goal, but she had forgotten to plan her route first. Now she was stuck in a pothole, not knowing what to say, as she didn't want to make the girl uncomfortable.

_Okay, okay, Arisa, you made a friend before, you can do this a second time!_

Though, Kasumi has been a special case. Them becoming friends was probably inevitable, if she really thought about it. Her mind kept distracting her and she still had nothing to say.

The girl was still staring back at her, probably wondering when this weird girl was going to leave and she could eat her pastries again.

"I, um… wanted to… ask you about your…hairpins!" The black-haired touched her white hairpins and looked to the side.

"Yeah, I wanted to know where you got them from! They're very cute," Arisa added, hoping to spark a conversation.

"Um…" The girl's cheeks became red again and she wouldn't look up. "My—my sister gave them to me a—as a present…"

"Oh," was all Arisa could say. "How nice! They suit you really well." Maybe a few more compliments would break the ice between them.

The girl still blushed, but a faint smile formed on her face. "Th-thank you."

Another round of silence was about to hit them, but Arisa wouldn't let it. Today, she would be daring. She took a step forward and introduced herself.

"My name is Kasumi Toyama, we're in the same class, but you probably already know that." Finally, the girl looked up, her complexion getting brighter again.

"I am…Rimi Ushigome. Nice to meet you, Toyama-san." _Yes!_

Arisa did a little victory dance in her mind and sat down next to Rimi, still leaving a bit of space between them.

"What do you got there?" she asked and pointing at Rimi's paper bag.

"Ah! These are some pastries from Yamabuki bakery. Yamabuki-san offered to bring me some this morning. They're really tasty!" She showed a content smile and held out the bag.

"Do you want some?" Arisa was tempted and peeked inside the bag. She saw a few very delicious things in there and the smell made it really hard to resist.

"I can really have one of them?" she asked, still not believing her luck. Rimi nodded and Arisa fished out a chocolate-glazed doughnut. It was fine to spoil yourself like this once in a while, especially if it's free.

As Arisa munched on her snack, Rimi commented, "My favorite are chocolate cornets."

"Oh yes, I like those, too."

"They're just so soft and creamy and sweet. Anytime I eat one, it feels like heaven on earth. Haah~" Rimi clasped her cheeks with her hands and blushed again.

A true chocolate cornet lover if Arisa had ever seen one. She couldn't deny, Rimi's passion for pastries was kind of cute. A smile formed on her lips.

Saaya would be a perfect fit for her.

Just when Arisa thought things would go smoothly for her, the peace was interrupted. Those damn hair buns came into her sight again and she had to swallow her curse words.

Kasumi looked around the roof and lit up as soon as she spotted her lost friend.

"Arisa!" she shouted and ran over to them. She was greeted by Arisa's scolding stare and immediately realized her mistake.

"Yes, it is I, Arisa! Arisa Ichigaya is my name, yes, that's me," she tried to save herself, only making the actual Arisa facepalm and close her eyes, so she wouldn't have to see the embarrassment named Kasumi in front of her.

Rimi fell back into a shock-like state again, upon being approached by yet another strange person. Kasumi didn't take that hint, however.

"Geez, Kasumi! I've been searching everywhere for you, what are you doing here?" She tried to play mad, but couldn't help her eyes sparkling at the sight of sweet snacks.

"Can I have a bite of that?" she asked, pointing at Arisa's doughnut. The girl turned her torso and pulled her snack closer to her.

"Nuh-uh! It's mine!" Kasumi pouted and came closer.

"Come on, one tiny bite!"

"I said no!" Before Arisa could react, Kasumi reached out and took a bite. The (currently) brunette wanted to push her away, but was surprised by how close their faces were.

In the end, she did push her off though, but the damage was already done. There was still some doughnut left, but it could've been more if Kasumi didn't forcefully take it.

Arisa muttered a few curse words under her breath and ate the rest, before the doughnut thief could strike again.

"You still haven't answered my question," the (currently) blonde complained.

"We're socializing, can't you see that?" The answer made Kasumi pout again.

"Yes, but you could've at least texted me. I searched everywhere for you, I got really worried. Even Saaya did!"

Arisa stared at the ground. "Sorry." It hadn't been her intention to upset Kasumi like that. Her actions had been impulsive.

Finally, Kasumi turned to Rimi, who had been quieter than the void for all this time. "And you are?"

"...Rimi Ushigome from class 1-A. N—Nice to meet you." Kasumi took her hand and shook it vigorously.

"I'm Ka—I mean, Arisa Ichigaya! Nice to meet you, too!" She smiled brightly at the girl in front of her, who still seemed overwhelmed by Kasumi's energy.

"Arisa, stop shaking her like that! The poor girl is getting dizzy!" Arisa scolded her. Kasumi let go of Rimi, but kept her comically large smile.

Rimi's head was still spinning from the sudden commotion, but she really appreciated Arisa's intervention.

"Sorry, I just get excited when I meet new people. I guess that doesn't apply to everybody." Kasumi showed an apologetic smile and sat down between the two girls.

"So, what have you been talking about?" she asked, not noticing Arisa's deathly glare aimed at the back of her head.

"Um," Rimi began breathing faster again, "we were, um, we were talking about, um…"

Kasumi's intense stare made it hard to remember what it was that they had been talking about, before the aforementioned girl grandiosely interrupted them. Luckily, Arisa was there to help.

"We were talking about chocolate cornets and how tasty they are, right?" Rimi's eyes almost teared up from relief. She frantically nodded and gave Arisa a thankful look.

"Ohh, chocolate cornets? Yes, they're really tasty, I like them, too!" Kasumi responded, oblivious to the exchange of looks between the other two. Rimi nodded again.

"I especially like the ones from Yamabuki bakery, they're just extra yummy!" It seemed Rimi calmed down, once she got the chance to talk about her favorite thing again.

"You go to Yamabuki bakery, too? That's so cool!" Both their eyes lit up as they realized they had something in common. None of them could've ever guessed to make a friend by talking about their love for pastry.

While it had been Arisa's plan to get Rimi to befriend Saaya, she didn't mind Kasumi being friends with Rimi, as well. In fact, maybe it would get her even closer to Saaya, seeing that Kasumi was already Saaya's friend.

Except, Saaya didn't know that Kasumi was in Arisa's body now. Arisa would have to pretend to be her friend. Kasumi could make friends with Saaya in her current state, but it wouldn't be quite the same. Gosh, that was all too complicated.

She returned to her previous thought of how to get Rimi to befriend Saaya and found herself asking, if that was even necessary anymore.

Kasumi and Rimi were now passionately discussing various types of bread and pastries and also other bakeries, and the black-haired never looked happier. Was there even a need for another friend?

You can never have too many friends, sure, and Saaya had been just the first person that had come to mind, seeing how Rimi had already known her.

Besides, maybe Arisa could be her friend, too. She understood how hard it was to be all alone and nervous like that, so maybe they could bond over that. She was ready to try.

Yet, for some reason, she felt it wasn't enough. Kasumi would be occupied with Arisa, since they couldn't talk business in front of Rimi. Who would she have then? Nobody.

She didn't want to leave her on her own like that, that's why she needed Saaya, or anyone else who would get along with her. Yup, that was it.

The bell rang. Time for class again.

Arisa reluctantly stood up and watched the other two cheerfully talking. They didn't seem to have heard the bell, so she loudly cleared her throat.

"Didn't you hear the bell? Break is over." Kasumi frowned and Rimi's smile shrunk. They both stood up and walked after Arisa.

"We can talk again tomorrow, if you want," Kasumi proposed.

"Yes, I'd love to!" Rimi replied and both girls found their smile again. Arisa couldn't help, but grin, as well.

What a great thing friendship was.

* * *

A shriek came out of Arisa’s mouth when she came out the classroom and got jumped by Kasumi. All eyes were on her and she found herself embarrassed from the unwanted attention. Kasumi, of course, didn’t notice.

“Ka—Arisa! What was _that_?!” She took a deep breath in hopes of calming down her racing heart and glared at the girl before her.

“Ahahaha, sorry, sorry! I got a little too excited again.” This was getting out of hand. Arisa pulled her to the side and made sure no one was listening.

“Honestly, I’m starting to believe you want our cover to be blown. I try my best to act like you do, but I don’t see you putting in the same effort.” Kasumi almost looked offended by her accusation.

“That’s not true! I’m trying my best! Just—Sometimes it just kinda _jumps_ out, you know? It’s hard to contain myself.” Arisa shook her head. _Hopeless_.

“Then try harder,” she grunted and silenced Kasumi’s complaints when a certain classmate came by.

“See you tomorrow!” Saaya said with her usual smile and waved as she went down the hallway. Arisa put on a forced smile and waved after her. “See ya!”

When the girl was out of sight, Arisa turned to Kasumi again. “Okay, listen. You’re good at making friends, right? I need your help.”

Kasumi tilted her head. “I guess.”

“Great.” Arisa didn’t want to waste any more time at school, now that class was finally over.

“How about we go to your place then? We were at my house yesterday, I think that’s only fair.” Arisa expected excitement or joy from Kasumi, but all she got was nervousness and hesitation.

“What’s wrong?” Arisa asked. Kasumi averted her eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see my family again, but…” Her lip trembled a bit. “I don’t think I’ll be able to hold myself if I see them again.”

Once again, Arisa had been reminded of the route she had chosen take. Her doubt about the amnesia excuse having been the right thing to do only increased.

Unlike Arisa, Kasumi couldn’t just walz in and give hugs and kisses to her family members. Seeing them treat her like a stranger might even make things worse. It’s moments like these that made Arisa wish, they’d just switch back again with the snap of their fingers. But life wasn’t easy like that.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say to her friend, who only shook her head.

“It’s not your fault,” Kasumi replied. Except, it totally was.

Arisa bit her lip. There had to be something she could do. Seeing Kasumi like this hurt her. A smile belonged on those lips.

Wordless, they began walking towards the exit. Arisa didn’t know what overcame her, but she laid her arm around Kasumi’s shoulders. For a moment, the corners of Kasumi’s mouth pointed upwards, but returned to their previous state just as fast.

_What have I done?_

* * *

Somehow, they ended up at Arisa’s house again. Kasumi had curled up on the bed and Arisa sat next to her and gently stroked her back.

“I really miss them,” the sulking girl said, staring blankly at the air. Arisa hummed in response, because she felt that any words would be wasted.

There was no way she could ever understand Kasumi’s feelings as she never had that deep of a connection to her parents or non-existent siblings. Her grandma maybe, but that was probably something else entirely.

“I keep wondering how Aa-chan is doing. She’s so responsible, I doubt she has any trouble,” Kasumi continued talking her feelings out. Arisa nodded, even though Kasumi had no way of seeing it from her position.

“And Mom. Always working around the house. When I close my eyes, I see her hanging up the bedsheets to dry and I smell the shampoo that she always uses and I taste the curry she makes for us and I hear her voice tell me to have a nice day at school and I feel her lips on my forehead. I miss her so, so much.” Her voice cracked at the last sentence.

Arisa couldn’t bear hearing this. Her heart already broke, the thing that would kill her was seeing Kasumi cry. She leaned over and grabbed Kasumi’s hand with her free one.

“You will see her again soon, in your own body. I promise.” She squeezed Kasumi’s hand and was near tears herself. Kasumi looked back at her and finally smiled.

“Thank you,” she whispered and pulled at Arisa’s hand until the girl fell on top of her. Kasumi looped her hands around Arisa, who nearly suffocated in her cleavage.

Yet, for some reason, she didn’t mind. The physical contact didn’t bother her at all, it even felt good. She felt a bit guilty for enjoying herself on the behalf of Kasumi’s depression, but the (currently) blonde probably needed the hug just as much. She let herself indulge in the feeling for just a little longer.

What she didn’t count on, however, was how long Kasumi would hold her like that. Arisa expected her to let go after just a few minutes maybe, but either those minutes felt like hours or it’s actually been a few. The girl wouldn’t budge.

She didn’t want to upset her again, but a hug that long must’ve been enough to satisfy her needs. Arisa decided to test her luck.

“Hey Kasumi.”

“Hmm~?”

“Don’t you think our hug was long enough?”

“Eh~? No way.” She tightened her grip around Arisa, who sucked in a breath. The parts that touched Kasumi’s—or rather Arisa’s—body had become uncomfortably sweaty and she really didn’t want Kasumi to notice.

Her plan to get her to let Arisa go had backfired. Time for the next plan. If words didn’t work, she had to use brute force.

Arisa started squiggling around, trying to escape Kasumi’s strong grip, but had no success. She tried multiple times, but failed every time. She only stopped when she realized in what position she had brought herself.

Before, her head had been resting on Kasumi’s chest, but now their faces were only centimeters away, the tips of their noses barely touching.

Kasumi looked back at her with soft eyes, which were actually Arisa’s. She wondered how Kasumi wasn’t weirded out by the fact, that it was her own face staring back at her.

Still, Arisa couldn’t help her cheeks gaining color. Her face had already been hot, but now it was burning. Could Kasumi feel her heartbeat fasten? She hoped not.

Was it weird that she felt like this when her friend looked at her this way, albeit with her own two eyes? Arisa had no way of knowing the answer. All she knew were her feelings and maybe that was enough.

Arisa wanted to let her gaze wander over Kasumi’s face, but there was no way she could. It just felt too weird. She tried imagining Kasumi’s real face in front of her, staring back with the same warm smile full of love.

...Love? Was that the thing in Kasumi’s eyes?

Surely, it was her love for Arisa as a friend...right? Her head started spinning. All these thoughts, all these questions...but did she even want the answers?

“Kasumi,” Arisa whispered.

“Hm~?”

There wasn’t anything in particular she wanted to say. Saying her name had been essentially enough to give Arisa a rush of various emotions.

She squeezed her hand past Kasumi’s arm and put it on Kasumi’s cheek, stroking it with her thumb.

“The next time we do this, you’re going to be staring into my actual eyes.” Kasumi blinked and her cheeks turned a light pink at the promise of another moment like that. She let out a short giggle and leaned her head into Arisa’s palm.

“You promised. I’m looking forward to that.” Arisa nodded and returned her smile. She’d get them their bodies back, no matter what.

Kasumi closed her eyes and Arisa did the same. She picked up Kasumi’s rhythm of breathing and tried matching hers. And not even five minutes later, the girls fell asleep.

* * *

A very familiar ceiling was the first thing Arisa saw, when she opened her eyes after her nap. For a moment she thought she had gotten her body back, but a glance to the side proved those thoughts wrong.

Kasumi was still sleeping, curled up like a baby and still wearing her hair buns, though those had seen better days. Arisa sat up and grabbed her phone.

A swarm of notifications showed up on the screen and Arisa read the time in the corner: 5AM. Could you even call that a nap? How did they sleep for that long?

She had countless texts and calls from Kasumi’s mother and Asuka, who had been worried sick and probably still are. She had totally forgotten to text them.

Arisa stood up and made her way to the bathroom. The mirror showed her that her hair was a mess and her uniform had terrible folds all over it. Could she even go out like that?

She sighed. What a mess. But thinking about what happened before they fell asleep made Arisa think it was worth it. A smile automatically formed on her lips when she thought about it.

Kasumi made her feel a certain way, a way she’d never felt before. Warm, safe, happy, to name a few of her feelings. Was this the feeling of friendship? She didn’t know.

The (currently) blonde was still fast asleep when Arisa returned. She looked so peaceful and content; Arisa decided not to wake her up yet.

Instead, she sat down next to her and tried to sort out the mess of messages on her phone. She swiped away all the annoying notifications from Kasumi’s countless mobile games and skimmed through the sea of messages from Kasumi’s family. Most of it was just the question, ‘Where are you?’ repeated over and over.

She tried thinking of a reply that wouldn’t make them freak out, but that was probably impossible. She told them she was okay and would explain everything later. None of them replied immediately, which meant they were most likely still sleeping.

One notification caught Arisa’s eye. Her thread on the forum had gained a few more comments after the first one. Most of them had been useless commentary, but this particular one seemed strange and sort of suspicious.

**Oddie’sGF replied:** _“Oddie striked again.”_

What did that mean? Who was Oddie and what did he have to do with this situation? Arisa decided to ask away.

**A.I. replied:** _“What do you mean?”_

Maybe this person would reply to her, but even if not, Arisa tried not to get her hopes up. It was probably meaningless, just someone messing around. And if not? She tried not thinking about it, but her mind wouldn’t listen.

She put the phone down and sighed, turning to Kasumi, who slept without worrying about anything. Arisa envied her a little, but quickly stopped after realizing how much she really had to suffer by not being able to see her family.

Carefully, she stroked her hair and pictured Kasumi’s body laying next to her, instead of her own. This would make things way easier.

She imagined running through Kasumi’s brown hair, looking back into her purple eyes, holding her soft hands, feeling her long legs against her own...Is that something friends do?

Arisa became red and her head sank into her body. Good thing Kasumi couldn’t see her like this. Just as the thought crossed her mind, Kasumi’s eyelids started moving and the girl groaned lightly.

Arisa froze, hoping she wouldn’t suddenly jump up and get into her face. Lucky for her, Kasumi’s morning energy was yet to come, as for now the teen sleepily stared at presumably nothing.

“...Hm~?” Her brows furrowed as she realized what exactly she was blankly staring at: legs. Kasumi turned her head upwards until her gaze met Arisa’s.

“Mmm...Arisa…?” Kasumi blinked in confusion and tried to remember the events of last afternoon. She closed her eyes again and reached out with her hand. She probably meant to grab Arisa’s arm or hand, but instead placed her hand right on her thigh.

The (currently) brunette flinched a little from the sudden impact and her blood rushed to her face again. She wanted to scream and fling the hand away, but didn’t want to wake her grandma. Carefully, she took the hand and placed it on the bed again, only for Kasumi to swing it back, hitting Arisa’s stomach this time.

_I swear to god…!_

She wasn’t even embarrassed anymore, only annoyed. Leaving the bed was probably her best option if she wanted to escape the clutches of a still half-asleep Kasumi, but Arisa’s sloth prevented her from even considering it.

She tried grabbing her hand again, but it was firmly stuck to her body. A muffled, “Arisa~,” came from Kasumi’s lips and she opened her left eye to look at the resisting girl.

“What, Kasumi?” she asked in return, trying to give her a stare, but instead looking like normal. The sleepy girl took a deep breath through her nose and stretched her limbs out, finally removing her hand from Arisa.

Abruptly, she released all the air from her lungs and opened her eyes, fully this time.

“Whoa, that was a nice nap! I feel great!” She turned her head to see Arisa again. “Have you been awake for long?”

The girl shrugged. “I woke up maybe ten minutes ago.”

“That’s good.” Arisa raised a brow.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that…” Kasumi sat up and gave her a questioning look, then glanced at the window, which casted soft sunrays into the room.

“It doesn’t seem to be that late yet. You’ll probably arrive at home before it gets dark.”

“I mean...you’re not wrong.” Arisa tapped her shoulder and pointed at her phone, which displayed 5:21AM in large letters. Kasumi took a minute to process that it was five in the morning and not the evening and almost freaked out, when the coin finally dropped.

“Woah! This means we’ve been sleeping for how long?”

“More than twelve hours,” Arisa answered, also wondering how in the world they managed to do that. It wasn’t like they were sleep-deprived or anything, so why didn’t they wake up earlier?

“That’s sooo crazy!!!” Kasumi fidgeted around in excitement and disbelief, shaking the bed and everything—or rather everyone—that was on it.

“Hey Kasumi, cut it out!” Arisa complained, but it only made things worse. Kasumi turned around with a dangerous grin on her face and leapt forward to get a hold of the girl beside her.

They almost fell off the bed, but Arisa managed to grab the bed frame and pull them up a little. Kasumi’s face was just as close as it had been the moment they had fallen asleep and Arisa’s face began to become just as hot, too.

She wanted to say something, maybe complain or scream, but couldn’t get a sound out of her mouth. The girl in front of her, however, managed to talk just fine.

“This is how we were yesterday, and also how we fell asleep.” Yes, Arisa was very aware of that fact and wasn’t sure the reenactment was really necessary.

”Do you think we stayed like this the entire night long?” Kasumi asked in a low voice, making the hair on Arisa’s neck stand up.

Arisa felt the girl’s breath on her chin, the way Kasumi’s chest pressed against her and pulled away again every time she breathed.

“N—No way…” she responded to her question, trying to turn her head away, but losing herself in the stimulation her senses gave her. It was almost as if Kasumi did it on purpose, being so incredibly irresistible and provocative.

In the end, it was Kasumi who pulled away first, much to Arisa’s relief, though some disappointment had also been thrown into the mix. She just didn’t know how to react whenever Kasumi did these things, if what she really wanted to do was appropriate or would only upset the (currently) blonde.

But there was always this tugging feeling inside her chest. Because even though Kasumi gave her so much, so many moments, so many emotions and questions, it wasn’t enough. She wanted _more_. But would that end well? Arisa prefered not to think about it. For now, she’d let Kasumi take the lead.

“So what now?” Kasumi asked, looking back at her friend as if nothing happened.

Arisa released the breath she’d been holding and scooted away from the edge of the bed—which meant she would be closer to Kasumi again. However, she didn’t want to scoot back as it would probably seem weird.

“Um…” Arisa didn’t really know herself. It was too early for breakfast, but they also didn’t have any dinner last evening, so maybe that wasn’t the worst idea.

“Are you hungry? We could eat something first.” Kasumi felt her stomach and after a moment of thinking shook her head. “Not really.”

Arisa wasn’t hungry either. Seems like she had to come up with something else to do.

“You wanna do homework?”

“Ehh? Now?” Kasumi pouted. “I don’t feel like it…”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“Hmm...I don’t know.”

“Then don’t complain about my ideas,” Arisa countered.

That was pretty much what she’d expected from her. She leaned against the bed frame and crossed her arms. She had no problem with staying on her bed for the rest of the day, but she knew Kasumi would lose her mind from sitting still for only five minutes. If she had her own problem, she should solve it on her own. Easy as that.

But not for Kasumi. At least, not in a way that wouldn’t inconvenience Arisa. So, with nothing better to do, Kasumi lounged her second attack on the (currently) brunette, which made the latter squeak.

When would Arisa be free from the endless physical contact she had to endure? She didn’t even hate it for the usual reason, which was just her feeling uncomfortable and sometimes even disgusted. No, Kasumi’s touch was a blessing to experience on her own skin (technically Kasumi’s, but who even bothered at this point?). It was Arisa’s greed that gave her trouble.

Much like Kasumi, Arisa wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to hold back. And it wasn’t even just hugging her back, what Arisa wanted. No, she wanted much, much more. More than Kasumi might be willing to give.

And so, she was forced to just sit and wait, until the girl let go of her, until she couldn’t tempt her anymore and make Arisa do something she’ll most likely regret. Their friendship had just begun, she didn’t want it to end so quickly.

They sat there in silence, Kasumi not showing any sign of letting Arisa go, but the latter also desperately trying not to return the embrace. It was hard at first, but after a few moments Arisa relaxed her shoulders and occupied her mind with something else. They stayed like this for some time, simply living in the moment.

The birds outside had started chirping and the room had already been filled with sunlight. Was it 6AM already? None of them really cared; they didn’t have to go to school anyway, since it was already Saturday.

The silence was broken by a comparatively loud growl. Both girls looked at each other before Kasumi’s face showed hints of a blush and she sheepishly smiled back.

“That was mine…”

And so they returned to Arisa’s very first idea.

* * *

“Oh my god, Kasumi!!!” Arisa wasn’t even past the front door, when Kasumi’s mother and sister nearly threw themselves at her, almost suffocating Arisa with their embrace. Now she knew where Kasumi had her strong grip from.

She didn’t resist, it was only fair for her to suffer like this after worrying Kasumi’s family so much. She tried giving them a smile and even returning the hug, which proved difficult in her position.

They stayed like this for several minutes, before Kasumi’s family let go with teary eyes and trembling hands.

“Where have you been? What happened? Are you okay?” Arisa was bombarded with questions. She had spent the entire way home thinking of a solid excuse and decided to simply alter the truth a little bit.

“I’m sorry, Mom, Aa-chan. I completely forgot to call you. I was at a friend’s house.” They moved to the kitchen as Arisa continued telling her story in full detail.

“I went there after school. I meant to call you, but before I knew it I fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night. Of course, I didn’t want to walk home at such a late hour, so I stayed until my friend woke up and we ate breakfast.” She smiled and pulled up her fists.

“So, as you can see, I’m feeling just fine! Nothing happened, just a slip-up on my side. I’m very sorry for worrying you like that.” Hopefully, her mother would understand and not forbid her meeting with her friend again.

Kasumi’s mother still had some traces of worry in her eyes, but relaxed her shoulders. Asuka on the other hand looked sceptical and wouldn’t lose her frown. It was clear, who of the two would give her more trouble with the situation.

“Oh, Kasumi…” her mother sighed and placed a hand on Arisa’s shoulder. “I’m glad it was just a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding!?” Asuka was not pleased with her mother’s choice of words. “She could’ve been god-knows where, it’s a miracle she came back untouched!”

_Untouched, huh?_ If Arisa thought about how much she’d been touched by Kasumi, the word definitely seemed unfitting. But Asuka didn't need to know.

“Sorry,” she blurted out again, but it didn’t make Asuka’s anger go up in smoke. Kasumi’s sister took a deep breath and shook her head in frustration.

“I was really worried. I thought maybe you forgot the way home again or worse even.” She stared down at her feet.

“I’m really relieved, that you’re back and that you’re safe, but...please, don’t let this happen again, okay? We really thought you almost died out there, Mom even called the police.”

That seemed a bit much, but Arisa tried to put herself in their shoes. If her grandma went missing like that, she’d probably do the same. Besides, it hadn’t been her intention to worry them so much in the first place.

Arisa nodded and gave Asuka an awkward smile. “I understand. Sorry, I’ll be sure to call you in advance next time.” 

Kasumi’s sister looked up again and returned the smile, hugging her sister again. She looked tired; she probably stayed awake for the majority of the night. Arisa watched as Asuka went upstairs to get some well-deserved rest.

Arisa went back to the kitchen, where Kasumi’s mother was preparing lunch.

“Mom, aren’t you tired? You should rest, as well. I’ll handle this,” Arisa said to the woman.

“No, dear, it’s fine. I’m not that tired.” Arisa shook her head.

“I already ate breakfast, I can make lunch for myself if I need it. You should go to sleep.” Kasumi’s mother wanted to protest again, but her exhaustion hit her just in time. She excused herself, placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead and went to her bedroom.

The situation had been defused and now Arisa could rest easy, as well. She looked at the things Kasumi’s mother had left standing on the counter and began cleaning them up. From the looks of it, she had been preparing vegetables with rice and little sausages.

Arisa couldn’t help but smile at the star-shaped carrots and the little octopi, that had been formed with the sausages. She saw Kasumi’s sparkling eyes in her head, happily munching on her mother’s food, which had been made with so much love, you could practically taste it.

The girl clenched her fists. The sooner she reunited Kasumi with her family again, the better. Being reminded of her mission, she checked her phone again in hopes of seeing a reply to the weird ‘Oddie’ comment on her thread. Still nothing.

Arisa sighed, but saw that Kasumi had texted her.

**Arisa Ichigaya:** Are you home? (*^‿^*) _10.48AM_

**Me:** Yes. I settled everything with your family, they’re sleeping now. _10.49AM_

**Arisa Ichigaya:** Awesome! (b≧▽≦)b _10.49AM_

**Arisa Ichigaya:** But that’s not why I texted you! _10.49AM_

**Arisa Ichigaya:** I wanted to talk a bit more about Rimi and Saaya! (* ° 3°*) _10.49AM_

**Arisa Ichigaya:** Can I call you? (*^‿^*) _10.50AM_

That’s right, Arisa told Kasumi her plans for Rimi and Saaya over breakfast. She told her everything that happened; how she saw the two in class, tried talking to Rimi on the roof and how Kasumi barged in (and, surprisingly, didn’t mess up the entire thing).

Kasumi, of course, agreed to help her the moment Arisa had opened her mouth. Now they were trying to come up with a plan to unite the two. However, since Arisa had the social skills and Kasumi the intellect of a tomato, this was pretty much destined to be a bumpy trip. Nonetheless, Arisa wanted to try, if only to prove something to herself.

**Me:** Sure. _10.50AM_

Almost instantly, her phone started vibrating and Arisa slid the white circle towards the green speaker icon.

“ _Arisa! Hello!!!_ ” she heard Kasumi yell through the speaker and hesitated putting the phone too close to her ear.

“You don’t have to yell like that. My ears are going to fall off.”

“ _Oh, sorry!_ ” Kasumi laughed a little, before talking about the topic, which she had called her for in the first place.

“ _So, I’ve been thinking. The two of them already share an interest in bread and stuff. But what if that’s not enough?_ ” Arisa sat down on the sofa and furrowed her brows.

“What do you mean?”

“ _Sharing an interest is great and all, but...if it’s just one, the relationship will probably stay shallow._ ” Arisa was surprised by Kasumi’s very valid point. She hadn’t even thought of that.

“So there _is_ something inside your head after all. Impressive.”

“ _How cruel! What’s that supposed to mean?_ ” Kasumi let out a whimper and Arisa had to hold back a giggle.

“So what do we do?”

“ _I thought we could, maybe, find more things they have in common and then...I don’t know, set them up somehow to get them to talk about anything other than bread?_ ” Who was this girl Arisa was talking to right now? Surely, it couldn’t be Kasumi coming up with all these great ideas by herself.

She shook the thought away, thinking about what happened last time she had judged Kasumi without fully knowing her. Even now, they might were closer, but there’s still so much left she didn’t know about her. One of these things being, Kasumi’s amazing matchmaking skills.

“Okay, sounds great. Let’s try it then.”

“ _Yay! I thought, maybe each of us could talk to each of them and then we’ll compare the results._ ” Another good idea. Arisa almost wasn’t surprised anymore.

Her first instinct was to pick Rimi. The black-haired most likely had a lot in common with Arisa and might be willing to open up to her a lot easier than to Kasumi, who would probably just overwhelm her again with her energetic nature. Besides, Saaya was Kasumi’s friend already, they wouldn’t have trouble connecting.

However, that wouldn’t work. Kasumi’s body was still in Arisa’s control and as friendly as Saaya was, she had been stealing suspicious glances at Kasumi, who was still in Arisa’s body. This meant, there was really only one option.

“Okay. Let me talk to Saaya and you talk to Rimi. Is that okay with you?”

“ _Sure! I actually don’t really care, who I get, I like them both!_ ” Arisa released a chuckle, but felt her heart getting squished at the word ‘like’. What was that? She brushed it off, but it left a bad aftertaste.

“ _I guess, that’s all for now. At least, we have a plan now, I call that a success!_ ” The (currently) brunette tried focusing on Kasumi’s voice again.

_Yes, it’s your plan, Kasumi. Good job!_

“ _Do you think Rimi is free this weekend? Calling her so suddenly, she might have plans already…_ ” Arisa blinked.

“Wait, you want to start _now_? I thought we were going to do this at school.”

“ _Oh, you can do that if you want, no problem. Just...I don’t have any plans for the weekend anyway, so might as well try, you know._ ” Where had this reasonable side of Kasumi been all this time? Suddenly, Arisa felt so little and helpless next to this girl. She wasn’t sure whether she enjoyed it or wanted to stomp the feeling with her feet.

“O—Oh, yeah. Makes sense,” was all Arisa managed to say. Kasumi had really thought everything through. She felt like she had to step up her game.

“Then I’ll call Saaya. Or visit her at the bakery, since I don’t have too many plans either.”

“ _Awesome! Text me later, if it worked out. If we’re both lucky, we might be able to gather our findings on Monday!_ ”

“Y-Yeah.” A small part of her hoped, that Arisa would end up luckier than Kasumi, to balance out her previous incompetence, but realized how malicious the thought was and quickly threw it out.

“ _Okay, I’ll see you on Monday then~! Goodbye, Arisa!_ ”

“Ah! Uh, yeah, bye.” Kasumi ended the call and Arisa leaned back on the sofa with a sigh.

The conversation should’ve left her with motivation and anticipation for their very promising plan, but instead Arisa just felt drained for some reason. Was it Kasumi’s unexpected brainpower that left her feeling almost stupid? Or the fact she now had to spend a perfectly good weekend socializing with a girl who she had to pretend to be a friend of?

It wasn’t like she hated Saaya or anything, quite the opposite actually, but the thought of spending time with her alone, talking about her interests she knew nothing about, made her muscles tense up.

That’s when Arisa finally remembered. There was no need to pretend to be or know anything, because Saaya pretty much expected her to know nothing. Arisa had forgotten her _amnesia_ , of all things. Wasn’t that ironic? Granted, her amnesia wasn’t real, but no one but Kasumi knew that. This let her hope that things might turn out okay.


	4. When we took a break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back when I could still write :') I think my writer's block began around chapter seven? and it's stronger than ever, I'm still stuck on chapter nine, though I am making progress it's just very little :''')  
> don't worry, I think I'll recover before I get to post that chapter, but it still makes me sad since I could've finished this fic a while ago already, but I didn't and I still have so many ideas I want to write, but I told myself I would finish this fic before starting anything new in fear of abandoning it, and so here we are  
> sorry for my rambling, it really has nothing to do with the chapter ^^'  
> I hope y'all enjoy the rest even if it becomes a little crappy around chapter eight, but there's still some time left until then

How could she have ever thought that things would turn out okay? After having procrastinated for five hours to send one short text to her classmate, Arisa had finally managed to hit send and had received an answer almost instantly. Saaya had agreed to meet up on Sunday and had even invited her to her own house.

And here Arisa was, clenching her knees together and gripping the straps of her backpack. She had been to Yamabuki bakery a few times, but was nowhere near a regular. She constantly reminded herself of the fact that Saaya would forgive her for any slip-ups, as she was still convinced her friend suffered from amnesia, but it didn’t make her feel less nervous.

She took a deep breath, stood up straight, fixed her hair and marched up to the building on the opposite side of the street. A last sharp breath was taken, before Arisa grabbed the door handle and pulled.

The door didn’t open. Arisa pulled again, but still no luck. She looked at the sign with the opening hours on it, to ensure herself that the bakery should be open by now and she wouldn’t look like a fool who couldn’t read, which she was anyway, because she failed to notice the word ‘PUSH’ written in big, bold letters right above the handle.

With burning cheeks, Arisa pushed the door and heard a bell ring above her head. The smell of fresh baked bread filled her nose and she took a look around the room. It wasn’t too big, yet stuffed with so much pastry, it almost seemed surreal.

“Ah, Kasumi!” a familiar voice called out. Arisa turned her head to the big counter, where Saaya had been waiting for her. She took a few steps forward and tried her best to act normal.

“Uh, good morning, Saaya,” Arisa said in the most neutral voice she could produce, before remembering that Kasumi would never talk like that. She froze and hoped that Saaya wouldn’t notice.

To her misfortune, Saaya raised her eyebrow and looked concerned. “Are you okay?”

Arisa almost screamed, which might even had been more in character than her greeting. Still, she tried her best to fix her mistake.

“Ahaha, sorry~ I’m still a little sleepy, fell asleep late last night.” She showed an apologetic smile and scratched the back of her head. Saaya’s expression softened and the girl smiled back.

“Alright then. My shift just ended, shall we head upstairs?” Arisa nodded and followed her friend into the hallway, that led to the living quarters. Saaya’s bedroom was on the first floor and she even had a little balcony, where she grew flowers. Other than that, her room was pretty standard.

A single bed, a desk with a chair, a big wardrobe...it did look too different from Kasumi’s room, only a few differences in the placement and furniture itself. And of course, Saaya’s room was a lot tidier than Kasumi’s.

The girl with the ponytail invited her to sit down on the bed and took the chair for herself. Arisa let herself down on the bed and placed her backpack at her feet. Saaya smiled at her, she could feel it, even when she didn’t look up at first.

“Welcome to my room,” Saaya announced, albeit a bit late, Arisa thought. She took another look around, just so she didn’t have to hold eye contact.

“It’s nice,” she commented and added, “Very nice!” after thinking the first comment wasn’t too Kasumi-like. Saaya giggled and didn’t seem to have noticed.

“It’s cool that you texted me, though I haven’t really expected you to do that in your current state. Nice to see you’re still Kasumi, even without your memories.” _Whoa, what?_

She let the statement sink in and process for a moment, before realizing that the girl was completely right. Kasumi would absolutely spend time with her friends and try everything to remember even a single detail about her life if she really had amnesia. Well, considering the whole ordeal had been Kasumi’s idea, she wasn’t surprised Saaya was being fooled so easily.

“Of course! I thought if I spend some time with my friends, I might remember something again!” Arisa replied, playing right into Saaya’s expectations.

“Besides, we’re supposed to be friends, but I don’t even know that much about you at the moment. I know my memories will come back, but I’m just too impatient! I wanna know now! So, I thought we could chat a little and speed up the process!”

“Sure! Where do you want to start?” Arisa didn’t really know. She had only vaguely thought of a few questions she could ask the girl, but nothing concrete. However, she didn’t want to make her wait too long, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“What are your hobbies?” Not the most creative question, but it did its job. Simple, but effective.

“Hmm, let’s see…” Saaya started thinking and put her hand to her chin. “I suppose I really like collecting hair accessories. I also like watching baseball with my family. We play it with my siblings sometimes.” She giggled at the last sentence.

“I guess there’s also…” She stopped herself and looked to the side for a brief moment, before shaking her head and brushing it off with a smile. “Nevermind. I think that’s about it.”

Arisa furrowed her brows for a second, but accepted Saaya’s response. Didn’t seem like much at first, but when Arisa thought about her own hobbies, she could sum them up with one sentence, as well.

“Cool,” she answered. Saaya chuckled. “Not that exciting, I know,” she commented.

“No, no! I think your hobbies are really nice!”

“Thanks.” Saaya chuckled again.

_God, this conversation is a mess!_

Arisa had no idea how to respond to anything and hoped for the best. Silence fell over them, as she was still trying to come up with another question or anything else that would keep their conversation going.

“Um, so...You have siblings?”

_That’s literally what she said five seconds ago, you imbecile_ , Arisa said to herself in her head, not pleased with what she came up with. But for now, it had to work.

“Yes, Sana and Jun are their names. I believe you’ve already met them before you lost your memory. You three had a lot of fun, from what I remember.” A warm smile formed on Saaya’s face.

“But then again, you get along with pretty much anyone you come across, especially younger people, so I can’t say I’m surprised.” Arisa had to smile at that statement, too.

Kasumi was truly a miracle, a ‘sparkling, heart-pounding star’ if you wanted to call her that. This girl managed to even get grumpy, lonely Arisa to have hope for the future again. Her heart started pounding at the thought of her experiences with Kasumi.

From their encounter at school, their internet research, Arisa messing up and apologizing, them finally making friends until their accidental sleepover and now their new plan to get Rimi a friend. So much had happened over the past week, Arisa never would have thought to become so close to someone in the span of a week. She didn’t even dare imagine how close they would get in one more week or even a month if they kept their current pace.

“Did that help with your memory?”

“Eh?” Saaya’s voice pulled Arisa out of her thoughts and into reality again. She needed a moment to register the question, let alone formulate an answer.

“Uhh...Not sure. Maybe?” She fiddled around with her fingers. “The, um, the doctor said it could take a while until I fully recover,” she added when she noticed Saaya’s bummed look.

“Did they figure out why it happened?” That’s what Arisa wanted to know, too.

“No, they said it was a ‘psychological error’ or something like that.” Of course, she had no idea what the doctor had actually said, but she just hoped Saaya wasn’t too versed in the field of medicinal tems.

“Huh...sounds kind of dangerous. You sure it isn’t serious or chronical?”

_No, but I sure hope it isn’t._

“It’ll be fine~,” Arisa said nonchalantly, just like she’d imagine Kasumi would say it. Saaya didn’t seem convinced, but honestly, Arisa wouldn’t be either if she were to be in her place.

“Okay then, get well soon,” her friend replied with a weird half-smile and reached out to squeeze her shoulder. Arisa replied with a reassuring smile and pulled up her fists.

“Thank you! I will, absolutely!” This only served to fuel her motivation towards getting her body back and returning Kasumi’s. There was no way she would fail.

“Anything else you want to ask?” Saaya tried carrying their conversation. Good question.

“Do you have any other friends? Beside me, I mean.” Arisa hoped her question wasn’t too personal, otherwise it would get awkward. Saaya stayed quiet for a minute, thinking how to word her response.

“Um, not really, I think. Well, I hadn’t really considered us ‘friends’ until recently, I always thought we were just classmates. Then you suddenly started calling me by my first name…” She bit her lip.

“I...used to have a group of very close friends, but then we kind of...disbanded. That was back in middle school. I just...don’t have that much time for my friends anymore. I have to work at the bakery and study for exams and help my mother with housework...it’s all a bit much already.”

Arisa didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t expect such a detailed, personal answer, but there it was and she had to say something.

“Ah, sorry for dumping this on you! Don’t worry about it too much,” Saaya said, but Arisa wasn’t willing to just let it go.

“No, thanks for telling me. I...didn’t know how busy you were. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have te—”

“Stop! Don’t say that!” Saaya shouted, startling Arisa with the sudden volume change.

“Sorry. It’s just— I don’t want you to worry about me, okay? I’m fine, I’m really enjoying your company right now! It’s not like I don’t want to have any friends at all…” Her voice became a lot quieter again. “...because I do.”

The tone with which she said the last part struck Arisa right into her heart. She knew this desperation, this frustration, this _loneliness_. Turns out she related to Saaya a lot more than she thought.

But as bad as it sounded, this was perfect! Setting her up with Rimi would be a lot easier if both of them were looking for a friend. Maybe there wasn’t even the need for them to have more in common than that feeling alone. Of course, their personalities needed to be compatible, but if polar opposites such as Kasumi and Arisa could get along, then the other two were practically soulmates.

She put her hand on Saaya’s, who looked up to meet Arisa’s understanding eyes.

“It’s okay. Sorry I asked something so personal.” An idea flashed through her mind. “If you want, we could meet up again. I could bring some of my friends if you’re comfortable with that.”

Saaya hesitated for a second, but made a small nod. “Yes, we can try that. However, can we do it not too far from my house?”

“Um, sure. I don’t think this would be a problem.” Arisa was curious to know her reason behind that request, but decided not to push further. If Saaya wanted to tell her, she would.

The girl seemed to have picked up Arisa’s puzzled look and after a short moment, started to elaborate.

“A few years ago my mother...suffered from a breakdown. She was brought to the hospital. I knew she wasn’t the healthiest back then, she still isn’t. Yet she just persists on doing all the housework. I can’t even count how many times I told her to take it easy and rest.”

Saaya clenched her fists and it seemed she was holding back tears.

“At that time, I—I wasn’t there. I received a call from my siblings, crying, not knowing what to do, because Mom just collapsed. I—” She was trembling now. “I don’t want that to happen again.”

Arisa was taken aback. There hadn’t been any need for Saaya to open up that old wound just to satisfy Arisa’s curiosity, but she very much appreciated her honesty.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, not sure if she should take her hand again. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll make sure, our meeting spot won’t be far from here.”

A sniffle came from Saaya, who then smiled and whispered back, “Thank you.”

They kept sitting in silence until Saaya calmed down a bit. None of them expected their conversation to become so depressing so fast. Arisa clapped her hands together to get the other girl’s attention and put on a wide grin.

“How about we talk about something nice again? You mentioned a collection of accessories…” Only hearing the word made Saaya’s eyes lit up with joy.

“I can show you!” the girl said openly excited, and didn’t even wait for a response, as she ran over to her shelf and opened the first drawer.

* * *

It would always remain a mystery to Arisa how Kasumi could be so hyper in the earliest of mornings. Somehow, she ended up at her house on Monday morning, way before classes started. Kasumi had argued that it was the best time to discuss their findings, as lunch time would most likely be spent with Rimi and Saaya gracing them with their company.

Apparently, Kasumi had met Rimi on Sunday, as well. If Arisa was completely honest, she was curious to find out what the black-haired had revealed to Kasumi. It better be worth her waking up practically in the middle of the night.

Kasumi was humming some random melodies again, as she hung the clean laundry over the clothesline. At least, Arisa didn't have to worry about her causing trouble for her grandma. Kasumi proved to be quite useful when it came to house work.

As soon as she was done, she smiled to herself and turned around to face Arisa, who had been watching her. She took the laundry basket and both girls headed inside the house.

Arisa's grandma had prepared breakfast for both girls (even though her granddaughter had insisted she'd be the one to do it) and they sat down to eat.

"Gosh, granny! You didn't have to make so much again," Arisa complained out of worry for the elderly woman. Her grandma shrugged it off, but did feel a little joy in knowing there was someone who was looking out for her.

"You need to eat if you want to grow," was her favorite response, making Arisa roll her eyes every time.

"Except, I'm only growing wider, not taller," the (currently) brunette muttered under her breath, still loud enough Kasumi could hear and snicker at her remark.

"I think your body is fine the way it is," Kasumi said, giving her a thumbs-up and also a minor heart attack. Sure, she could say that since she'd be getting her nice, slender body back soon and Arisa would be stuck with her saggy excuse of a chest again.

"Thanks," she replied with a monotone voice. As usual, Kasumi failed to discern her reply as sarcasm and took it at face value, giving her, yet another, thumbs-up. Arisa only squinted and decided to focus on her food.

But as the thought had been planted into her head, Arisa found herself going on a tangent to compile all the specific parts she hated about her own body.

Of course, the top spots belonged to the typical problem zones almost all women complained about: there was her squishy stomach, that made it near impossible to wear anything tight without looking like an unbaked chocolate cornet, her thighs, which were probably thicker than her skull, her butt, which had the saddest upside-down heart shape anyone had ever seen and of course, her chest, which was so unnecessary large, it made shopping actual hell on earth.

Before she could go on about the smaller, yet, in her opinion, still visibly unpretty, parts of her body, the line of thought was interrupted by Kasumi having finished her serving and expressing her excitement about their little plan.

"I gotta be honest though, I really didn't expect you of all people to come up with such an idea in the first place," she said, resting her head on her palm.

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Arisa said back. She still had no explanation for her irrational actions, but she did not regret them in the slightest. Kasumi giggled.

"Seems like I'm having a good influence on you!" Arisa scoffed at that and turned away from Kasumi's proud gaze. "You wish."

Finally, Arisa's bowl was empty and her mouth was free for talking again. She cleaned it with a napkin and leaned her arms on the table.

"Okay, let's finally talk. Do you want to begin?" Kasumi beamed at the request and was visibly eager to share her knowledge.

“Yes! Here I go!” She straightened her back and cleared her throat, before she started sharing her part of the story.

“As I already told you, I met Rimi on Sunday at her place. We talked about so many things and it was really fun! Did you know she has an older sister who is in a band?” Arisa shook her head.

“Her name is Yuri and she’s the, uh...vocalist, I think? The band’s name is Glitter*Green and we already made plans to go to their next live performance! It’s gonna be so much fun! I’m sooo excited!!” She bounced up and down with a wide smile on her face.

“That’s nice and all, but what does that have to do with our plan?” Kasumi’s expression switched to a smirk.

“Don’t you worry, Arisa~! We can work with this! I thought we could go see their concert together! Like a double date!” Arisa’s heart jumped hearing the word ‘date’ and her face instantly flushed.

“I—It’s not a date!” she blurted out, only making Kasumi laugh and coo how cute she looked when she was embarrassed (which only made it worse).

“I think it’s a good idea!”

“I never said it wasn’t,” Arisa replied, still a bit red. It could be a good opportunity for the two girls to bond and she could swear she’d seen a pair of drumsticks lying around in Saaya’s room. Maybe this was the connection they’ve been searching for. Nonetheless, Arisa decided to hear the rest of the story, before jumping to conclusions.

“So, did you find out more about Rimi’s interests?”

“Oh, right! Sorry, I got off track.” Kasumi shifted in her seat and continued talking. “So, as far as I can tell she likes books and movies. She also told me she plays a bunch of video games in her free time.”

“Hmm…” Not many similarities on that end. “Guess we’ll have to go with the concert then,” Arisa thought out loud. Noticing Kasumi’s puzzled look, she began to tell how things had gone with Saaya.

“Saaya has two younger siblings with whom she plays a lot and also does a lot of work around the house, since her mother’s health is weak. Her hobbies are slimmed down to collecting hair accessories, though she is quite passionate about that, let me tell you.”

“So that means…” Kasumi tried combining their knowledge, but was cut off by Arisa. “The only thing they have in common is liking bread and maybe being interested in bands. I saw drumsticks in Saaya’s room if that means anything.”

Kasumi let out a thoughtful hum. So far, this didn’t sound all too promising, but the girls were still willing to give it a shot.

“When is the concert?” Arisa asked.

“This Saturday.” That was a lot earlier than expected. All of a sudden Arisa remembered her promise to Saaya.

“Where is going to be held?” Kasumi pulled out her phone to check the text with the location Rimi had sent her.

“Mmm...it says ‘Livehouse SPACE’, not sure where exactly that is.” She opened her browser to search for the address. While she kept looking, Arisa continued talking.

“You see, I promised Saaya to meet up, too, however under the condition that it wouldn’t be too far from her home.” Kasumi looked at her for a second, before turning to her phone again.

“Hmm...I don’t know what qualifies as being ‘not too far’, but SPACE seems rather central…” She showed Arisa the map on her phone and sure enough, Yamabuki bakery still fit on the screen with the livehouse being on the other end of it.

“I’d say it looks like a 20 minute walk...is that enough?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Saaya about it,” Arisa replied. That was the only thing they could do now.

Having discussed pretty much everything they could, the two girls headed off to school to get all the missing answers.

* * *

"This Saturday at SPACE?" Saaya put her index finger to her chin. Her expression didn't look all that enthusiastic, but in the end she nodded and agreed to meet up.

"It should be in the evening, right? My Dad will be home by that time, so it's fine." Arisa, Kasumi and Rimi smiled at each other and almost couldn't contain their excitement.

"It's gonna be so much fun!" Rimi cheered. It had been a while since she's been to one of her sister's performances, let alone with friends.

Kasumi's excitement was of similar extent, however she had to hold herself back to play her role as Arisa properly and not let loose again. Arisa on the other hand, wore a grin so big, her cheeks started aching and she asked herself when she was going to be freed from her suffering.

The girls continued eating their lunch, idly chatting between each other and simply enjoying the company. Before, it had been Kasumi and Saaya who had eaten lunch together everyday and in the blink of an eye, two new girls had appeared next to them.

But Saaya was intrigued by the situation. She'd seen Rimi at the bakery dozens of times already and actually took quite the liking of her, but Arisa was just a bag of mystery. Her demeanor changed with every running second, one moment she was energetic and cheerful, the other she was quiet and reserved. Not to mention she somehow reminded her of Kasumi…

No, that was probably her imagination or maybe Arisa took a few qualities from Kasumi, seeing how close the two became in the span of a week. Though, Kasumi wasn't really herself right now. How would that work then? Saaya decided to delay that thought to another time and got back to enjoying her meal.

"Mmm~! The chocolate cornets are as good as ever!" Rimi closed her eyes and let the bite slowly melt inside her mouth. Saaya giggled. "Thanks! You're one of our best customers."

Rimi blushed a little, averting her eyes. Her love for pastry was undeniable, but thinking about the amount of money she had invested in it made Rimi become flustered. Saaya thought it cute though and always lightened up whenever she spotted the black-haired in the bakery.

"Though, I suppose nobody can top Moca in that regard. She's our number one customer, I've never seen a girl consume so much bread in my life. That's some real passion right there."

The girls giggled as Saaya told them a few more stories about the girl named Moca and only moments later, their break was over.

"Aww, already?" Kasumi asked as she heard the bell ring and let her shoulders sink down in disappointment. They all stood up and went to their respective classes, which went by almost faster than the lunch break.

"Sooo…" Kasumi tried starting a conversation as she stood by the school gate with Arisa. "We already met up this morning, but if you want we can meet up again. Like, now." Her voice was hesitant, yet Arisa could see a longing in her eyes.

"Hm…" There wasn't really anything speaking against them going to Arisa’s place again, but for some reason the idea didn't seem all that compelling to her. She hadn't had a day for herself since…she didn't even know anymore.

"How about we slow down a little?" she suggested to the (currently) blonde, whose smile started slowly fading.

"We've met so many times last week and then I also saw Saaya yesterday, I think I need a little break. Maybe like two or three days for myself?"

Kasumi wanted to protest, but didn't know what to say. Before she could figure out her words, Arisa continued, giving her even less room for a counter argument.

"I mean, we'll still see each other at school, I think that should be enough. And there's also the concert on Saturday, so I think it's reasonable."

Arisa looked back at the girl, whose face was turned to the ground. She could still see her expression though and Kasumi seemed very upset by this. Well, upset might not be the best word, rather sad and disappointed, but intent on trying to accept the turn of events.

It was weird seeing her like this and frankly, Arisa had no idea why she was upset like that. Just as she'd said, the two would see each other at school everyday, so it wasn't like Kasumi would miss her like she missed her family.

Little did she know, that wasn't exactly what Kasumi would be missing. Sure, she'd see Arisa at school and talk to her, but it wasn't the same as being alone with her, relaxing in their room, talking about all sorts of things and simply being themselves. It was so much more than simply 'meeting', it was _bonding_.

But Kasumi didn't have the intellectual ability to sum this feeling up in words and so she was forced to let Arisa go for a few days. They said their goodbyes with an awkward wave and Kasumi watched after Arisa as she was headed to her home, which the (currently) blonde wished she could return to.

Was it selfish for her to want to have her body back, right this moment? Arisa had promised her to get it back as soon as she could, but how would that work if said girl secluded herself from the world again? Kasumi told herself, it was because she needed to recharge her energy, but not all parts of her brain seemed to be convinced by that explanation.

Like Arisa, Kasumi had learned a little about the girl from her grandma and other things she had found around the house. Arisa wasn't really social, skipping school just to avoid social interaction, to name an example.

She was however, really smart and hard-working if she wanted to be. She also had a good heart, even if it didn't show instantly. Kasumi had met many people in her life already, but no one quite like Arisa. She was sure it would've stayed that way if it hadn't been for the body swap.

Maybe it was because (apart from her grandma) Arisa was the only one who knew that she was Kasumi, but it felt like she could truly be herself with Arisa and talk to her about anything. In her company she felt so calm and serene, she found herself wanting more of it.

And if all that wasn't enough, Kasumi also liked the thing that Arisa complained about the most: her appearance. Despite Arisa’s disagreement, Kasumi thought her body was rather attractive and in comparison to Kasumi's, it had a lot more to offer. Only thing she would agree with was that the low stamina kind of sucked, but that didn't diminish her cuteness in any way.

Kasumi let out a sigh and began making her way home, her steps heavy and slow. It was just for a few days, why was she reacting this way? She didn't even have the energy to entertain this thought further and instead just focused on walking.

She kept walking and walking and walking…she was sure she should be at home already. Yet when she looked up, she found herself unable to recognize the street she was standing on. Did…did she get lost?

Granted, the way to Arisa’s house wasn't as natural to her as the way to her own home, but she didn't expect to get lost so quickly. Kasumi pulled out her phone to see where exactly she was, but stopped in her motion when she stared back at her reflection on the black screen.

Maybe a little break was what both of them needed. Since she had been little, Kasumi had always cared about everything and everyone, sometimes even too much. It was so easy for her to get endorsed in something so quickly, it usually overwhelmed the other party. This time was probably no different.

Kasumi had been laying on so thick, mainly because Arisa had been the only person she had been able to talk to freely. Paired with her energetic and clingy nature, private and reserved Arisa must’ve been drained of her energy in record time. Kasumi could hardly fault her for that.

Yet, accepting the fact didn’t make her feelings disappear in thin air. Her disappointment lingered inside her chest, constantly reminding her of the weird situation they had found themselves in, with no solution in sight.

Slowly, Kasumi continued walking. She didn’t know where she was headed, it didn’t even matter. All she wanted to do was walk. Walk her little walk of sulking.

She only stopped when she heard music. Someone was playing the guitar, somewhere near where Kasumi was standing. She turned her head around, trying to find the source of the tune that fit her mood so perfectly. A bittersweet melody, soulful and catchy.

After a few turns, Kasumi found her: A girl with a blue guitar stood by the sidewalk, playing it. Her long, straight hair swayed with every little move and she seemed fully focused on her performance. Kasumi felt her heartbeat quicken and came closer, joining the circle of listeners that had formed around the talented girl.

A few minutes later, her song came to an end and she received a round of applause from her audience. The girl bowed and thanked everyone for their attention, before waiting for the crowd to dissolve. Sure enough, most people walked away to do what it had been that they had wanted to do originally, before they had decided to listen, but Kasumi was not one of them.

In the end, she was the only one still standing, though guitar girl didn’t notice her as she was busy collecting her equipment. Only now Kasumi recognized the girl’s uniform, which clearly belonged to Hanasakigawa, and was stunned to find out there had been somebody with such talent at their school this entire time.

“That was amazing!” she blurted out, making the girl turn around and stare at her. For a second, Kasumi was scared she had done something wrong, as the girl in front of her kept staring at her with a blank expression.

“Weirdo,” she finally said, making Kasumi question everything.

“Ehh??? I’m not a weirdo! Why would you say that?!” She was a bit hurt by the word, but somehow felt it hadn’t been used as an insult. The girl’s expression didn’t change and her voice was calm.

“But you are. Everyone at school calls you that.” Kasumi felt bad for dragging Arisa’s reputation through the mud like that, so she only averted her eyes and laughed sheepishly.

“It’s weird stealing someone’s hairstyle like that,” guitar girl continued, as if to strengthen her argument. Kasumi defensively grabbed her hair buns and wanted to say something, but the girl was right. It _was_ weird. And only now she noticed.

Arisa had complained about it a few times, but stopped rather quickly, so none of them really noticed how weird it had been actually. Imagine seeing a girl at school having such a unique hairstyle like that and suddenly she stops wearing it and instead a girl from another class starts going to school with it. That’s definitely weird.

Kasumi was so flashed by this enlightenment, that she barely noticed the girl wordlessly slipping away. She snapped out of her bubble and frantically turned around to find the girl again. After a moment, she spotted her calmly walking away and luckily, she hadn’t come far yet.

“Wait!” Kasumi called out and ran up to her. “Are you a first year?” she asked the girl, walking alongside her. The girl nodded in response. “1-A.”

Kasumi almost blurted out that they were in the same class, before remembering that, right now, they weren’t. “Ah, I’m in 1-B,” she said, releasing a breath from relief, proud that she had managed to save herself.

“I know,” the girl replied, not looking at her. She seemed distant somehow, maybe also because she was significantly taller than Kasumi (or Arisa, for that matter), but it didn’t come across as if she found Kasumi’s company bothersome or annoying in any way.

“I’m Arisa Ichigaya. Nice to meet you!”

“I know.” Again with that response. How much did she know? “I’m Tae Hanazono.” Finally, a name! Kasumi faintly remembered hearing it during introductions in class, but wouldn’t have been able to guess correctly.

“Oh, Tae! That’s a nice name!” Tae, for some reason, shook her head.

“My name is Tae Hanazono,” she repeated, much to Kasumi’s confusion.

“Yes, you just said that.”

“But you mispronounced it.” Kasumi furrowed her brows.

“I don’t think I did. Tae. There, that’s what I said.” Tae shook her head again.

“No, you said O-Tae.” Kasumi blinked.

“Did I?” Tae nodded.

They kept walking in silence for a moment, both unsure of what to say.

“Sounds kinda cool, though, don’t you think?” Kasumi asked Tae, who raised her eyebrow.

“I think O-Tae is a cool nickname.” Tae stopped in her tracks and looked to the ground.

“A nickname?” Kasumi thought she had messed up again, but then the girl looked up again and continued walking after a moment of consideration.

“I like it,” she replied, making Kasumi release the breath she’d been holding and smile.

“Do you also need a nickname?” the guitarist asked. Kasumi wasn’t sure. What would Arisa say? In the end, she shook her head. “I think I’m good.”

They continued their silent walk, until they both noticed they had no idea where they were actually going.

“I was following you,” Kasumi argued.

“I was following _you_ ,” Tae countered.

They stared at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. The people around them made a turn around the girls, but none of them cared. They were enjoying the moment, only focusing on each other’s laughter, which made their own stronger in turn and the cycle continued for a while.

After laughing their hearts out, the girls sat down on a bench in the park they had found themselves in. Kasumi had to hold her stomach, which was still hurting a bit from the laughter and Tae held her guitar case on her lap.

“I didn’t know you played the guitar,” Kasumi started a conversation again.

“Would’ve surprised me if you did.” True, considering Arisa wasn’t even in her class and had even less way of knowing.

“You play really good. I was touched by your song.” Tae smiled and stared down at the case on her lap.

“Thank you. It’s addressed to a friend of mine.” Kasumi blinked in surprise.

“You wrote it yourself?” Tae seemed unfazed and nodded nonchalantly. “Yeah.”

“Holy crap, that’s amazing!” Kasumi’s eyes sparkled. Tae shrugged.

“It’s not as hard as people think.”

“You think I could do it, too?” Kasumi trembled in excitement.

“Of course. Though you should probably get a guitar first. It’s easier that way.” Kasumi nodded along and made a mental note to visit a shop, where they sold guitars, later.

"Do you do this often? Playing in public, I mean. Don't tell me—" Kasumi put a hand to her mouth. "Are you in a band???"

Tae nodded and then shook her head. It left Kasumi confused, not for the first and definitely not for the last time.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yes and no," the guitarist answered, not making her reply any clearer with that. Kasumi tilted her head.

"I do play my music on the sidewalk sometimes, as practice, but I'm not in a band. I'm not good enough to be."

"Ohhh! So that's what that meant!" Kasumi lightened up because she finally understood Tae, but her expression darkened again as she processed her last sentence.

"No way! How are you not good enough?! That is ridiculous!! You have so much talent!"

"Thanks, Arisa."

“It’s the truth!” Kasumi smiled at her and Tae giggled a little.

The conversation died down and the two were left sitting in silence. Kasumi let out a sigh as she stared up at the sky. Tae followed her gaze.

“Look, a rabbit.” The guitarist pointed at a cloud, that was probably anything but rabbit-shaped.

“Eh~? How is that a rabbit?” Kasumi asked and the girl next to her started to explain her vision.

“Over there are the ears and the little hole in the middle is the eye. And over there, the two ovals are the legs.” Kasumi squinted and tried to decipher the shape of Tae’s rabbit.

“I don’t see it,” she gave up in the end.

“Weird. It’s so obvious though.” This girl and her vision would remain a mystery for now. Kasumi closed her eyes and felt the warm air brush against her skin. It was starting to get cooler, but it wouldn’t actually get too cold until night hours.

“Your perception is clouded,” she could hear the girl next to her say. “Talking makes the clouds go away. Maybe then you can see the real clouds.” She knew what Tae meant, but was she ready to talk about her feelings with a stranger?

If it had been a complete stranger, she might’ve done it, but Tae was from her school, so that made things a bit more complicated. One wrong word and their secret would be out to the entire school, though...would Tae do something like that? Kasumi had a strange feeling she could trust the girl, even though she had no idea where the feeling came from.

Hesitantly, she started speaking up. If she kept it vague, it should be fine, right?

“You told me the song was addressed to a friend of yours. They must be important to you, if you write them a song.” Tae nodded.

“Yeah. She is.”

“So, imagine one day she went up to you and said she wanted to go and spend some time alone for a few days. You’d let her, right?” Tae hesitated for a moment, but nodded again.

“Of course. It’s not a big deal. Only a few days. She needs the time, you understand that.” Kasumi paused. Her voice became deeper as she continued.

“But you can’t let go. For some reason, you don’t want to let her go, even if it’s such a short while. You know you’re being selfish, but you can’t help it. This has never happened before.” She stared at the path in front of the bench they were sitting on. Tae shuffled with her case next to her. Kasumi didn’t even know what kind of response she’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the one she got.

“Wow, you’re even worse at this than I am.” Kasumi turned her head in surprise. Had she experienced the same? The (currently) blonde sat up in curiosity and began to listen to Tae’s little story.

“I’ve had the same thing. Back when we were little, we used to meet up and sing together. Her voice was beautiful, it only got better over the years.” She smiled to herself, but it quickly faded.

“I was so excited to go to school together, but that didn’t happen. She moved right before middle school started. She promised me she’d come back and we’ll play in a band together.” Tae turned around and pulled her arms into a shrug.

“I’m still waiting.”

Kasumi was stunned. There was nothing she could say. Compared to Tae’s story, Kasumi’s dilemma seemed childish, no, it _was_ childish. What were a few days without Arisa? She was right, they would see each other at school, no reason to freak out. Tae must’ve thought the same.

“Thank you so much, O-Tae. You really opened my eyes. I hope your friend comes back soon, your band is going to be amazing, I know it!” Tae blinked before showing a warm smile.

“Thanks.”


	5. When we hung out again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter that has my favorite scene in it, it's just really cute and wholesome ^^  
> anyway, I think I'm over my writer's block now? I finished chapter nine a few days ago and chapter ten is going smoothly so far, so yea  
> my estimate for the total number of chapters is now eleven, because there's still some stuff to resolve, though it might go up again, but I really don't think it's going to be more than twelve tbh  
> hope y'all like this chapter as much as I do ^w^

“Good morning, Arisa!” The (currently) brunette didn’t even bother turning around at this point. Kasumi would catch up any second.

However, as she approached Arisa, the latter stopped in her tracks to stare at her with an almost disgusted expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Kasumi asked, blinking innocently. Arisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was frozen in place and only moved again, when Kasumi started waving her hand in front of her face.

“Cut it out!” Arisa hissed and brushed her hand off. “Where are the buns?”

“The buns?”

“You know…” Arisa held her palms to both sides of her head. “Your weird hair buns.” Her expression became a little softer, but it remained wondering.

“Oh! That was what I actually wanted to talk about!”

Kasumi told her about how weird it had been for them to switch hairstyles and that she wanted to switch them back again.

“So, I wanted to show you how to do it!” She smiled at the girl in front of her, whose stare remained.

“And when did you intend to do that? Lunch won’t be working with the other two around,” Arisa replied coldly.

“How about now? Classes haven’t started yet, there’s plenty of time!” Kasumi beamed at her own idea and bounced around like a child. As she did, a small sack fell out of her pocket, catching Arisa’s attention.

“Isn’t that—” Kasumi followed her gaze, let out a surprised sound and picked up the lost item. Inside were a bunch of Arisa’s hairbands, pins and other accessories.

“Oh yeah, your grandma mentioned you were usually wearing pigtails, but I wasn’t sure how exactly you wore them, so I thought you could show me! Then we can both have our hairstyles back on our respective bodies and it wouldn’t be so suspicious anymore!”

Arisa was surprised by the quality of Kasumi’s argument and, after a moment of contemplating, agreed. The (currently) blonde cheered and dragged her along to find the nearest bathroom.

They didn’t waste any time and got straight to the point. Kasumi began explaining how she made her hair buns and Arisa tried following along to her little tutorial. She didn’t get it the first time and Kasumi had to help her in the end.

“I’ll practice later at home,” Arisa said, a smidge embarrassed that she failed, but Kasumi pat her on the back and assured her she had done well.

“I still remember how many tries it took me to get it right. It was hard, but I got it in the end! You can do it, too!” Arisa chuckled a little and began showing Kasumi her own hairstyle.

“It’s simple. You just make two pigtails around the height of your ears. And then I usually put these hairpins on the front bangs.” She watched Kasumi try to follow her instructions and smiled when she got quite close to her everyday look. It had been a while since Arisa had seen herself with her usual hairdo.

“You got it, Kasumi. It’s almost perfect. Just—” She got closer and adjusted the hairpins. “I wear them crossed.”

Kasumi looked at herself in the mirror and marveled at her reflection, shaking her head around to make the pigtails wiggle. She giggled and Arisa couldn’t help but join in. They turned to each other again, when their laughter faded out.

A weird tension formed between them. It wasn’t awkward or pressing, but there was something between them that made both girls become oddly nervous and self-conscious. Kasumi licked her lips and Arisa fumbled around with her skirt, as both thought of something to say.

The bell made both of them flinch and snapped them out of their moment. The girls rushed out of the bathroom and ran to their respective classrooms. Kasumi waved and grinned before she entered and Arisa replied with a soft smile.

She was just in time, seeing that the teacher entered the classroom mere seconds after Arisa did. She hushed over to her desk and threw Rimi and Saaya a wave as she passed by and sat down. Rimi looked at her for a little longer than usual and a delightened grin appeared on Saaya’s face.

“The hair buns are back!” Saaya cheered at lunch break. So that’s why she had been so excited after seeing Arisa. “Though...I guess they haven’t been really gone…” She glanced over to Kasumi, who stopped in the middle of biting into her sandwich.

It was clear that the girl demanded an explanation. Rimi nervously glanced around, not liking the atmosphere that started forming around them. Arisa quickly swallowed her bite and pulled an excuse out of thin air.

“Oh, um, yeah! Arisa lost a bet and had to wear my hairstyle for a week, since she had made fun of it when we first met!” She felt her heart inside her chest pick up the pace and hoped for Saaya to accept her lie. Unfortunately, it only lead to a stream of questions.

“That explains why Arisa had your hair buns, but why did you stop wearing them? I had assumed you had forgotten about them because of your amnesia…”

“Ah! Um...I lost the bet, too. And my punishment was to stop wearing the hair buns.” She inconspicuously wiped the sweat off her face and glanced at Kasumi to see if she would play along or maybe help her.

“Right,” Kasumi said with her mouth half-full and Arisa wanted to slap her.

_Thank you, Kasumi, you really helped me out there._

She swallowed a groan and took a deep breath instead. Her eyes turned back to Saaya, who kept staring at her with a questioning look.

“Hmm, okay, but…” The girl with the ponytail furrowed her brows. “I thought you two first met at school. And when I ran into you that morning your hair buns had been gone already.”

Arisa clenched her fists and closed her eyes. She had to focus to not burst out into a sea of curses and tried thinking of a good excuse that would tie everything together, even though all of her lies had come back to bite her in the butt so far.

“That’s—” Her breath quickened and she opened her eyes again, but her sight was blurry. The sound of the rattling leaves echoed inside her mind as she found herself unable to come up with anything. Time seemed to have come to a halt, but she knew it hadn’t really.

Saaya was waiting for an answer. An answer Arisa was unable to give her. This was it, their secret would be revealed. But what next? What would happen if Saaya and Rimi learned of their secret? Arisa had no idea. Why did they keep it a secret in the first place? Kasumi had told her grandma and it had turned out alright. Maybe keeping it a secret was the wrong approach. Maybe she should’ve told everyone from the start. Maybe—

“At school was the first time we met in person. The day before we had seen each other in a video call. I mean, we had no way of knowing if there really was a girl our age at the other end and not some creepy old dude, you know?”

Arisa snapped out of her thoughts and stared at Kasumi, who had just saved their butts. She was starting to question whether she was underestimating her too much or if Kasumi’s brilliant moments were remnants of Arisa’s brain activity in her body. Either way, it didn’t really matter right now. She simply released a breath and showed her a thankful smile.

Saaya seemed convinced by the answer and didn’t push further. Rimi also relaxed and her smile returned to her face as she continued eating her chocolate cornet. Kasumi giggled and shifted around to get closer to the group.

In the process she got a hold of Arisa’s hand and stroked it softly with her thumb. Arisa almost pulled away at first, but wrapped her fingers around her hand in return. She felt her face get warmer and her heart picking up its pace again, but this time it felt nice. A warm, cozy feeling that made all the troubles look like tiny pebbles on the sidewalk.

The conversation shifted and the air around the girls became light and cheery again. They kept talking about their usual topics, the upcoming concert, and a bunch of other things. For the entire time Arisa’s hand was intertwined with Kasumi’s. She wouldn’t mind for this to become a habit.

Almost too quick, their break ended and afternoon classes began. Every time Arisa asked herself, why she even stayed at school to attend them if she had already studied everything at home already. Luckily, those went by quickly as well.

The four friends walked up to the gate together and were about to say their goodbyes, when Kasumi asked if she could hang out with Saaya. The brunette didn’t mind, but was a bit surprised by her sudden request, as were the other two.

“I just want to get to know you a bit better,” Kasumi said with an innocent smile. Arisa wasn’t sure if it really was innocent or if she had some sort of ulterior motive, but in the end there was nothing she could do to stop them. Not that she thought there had been a need to.

The girls split up and after a few steps Arisa glanced over her shoulder to look after the two chatting girls. She found herself a bit irritated by Kasumi’s cheerful smile as she talked to the other girl. Arisa had told her to leave her alone, so it was only natural for her to hang out with someone else instead.

That’s right. She was replaceable. If Arisa wasn’t available someone else was bound to be. She wouldn’t be missed. Besides, what sense did it make for her to tell Kasumi to leave her alone, but then to get mad if she actually did?

_It’s called having double-standards,_ she heard her own voice state inside her head. And it was right. She was being hypocritical.

Arisa turned back and walked home.

* * *

Unfortunately for Arisa, her emotional suffering didn’t end there. The next day went by as usual, except Kasumi wanted to go with Rimi after school this time. Arisa would be lying if she said it didn’t bother her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake off her feelings of envy. Since when did Kasumi become so important to her?

At first, she had hoped to find a cure to their body swap fast, so that she could quickly cut all the ties to the annoying girl again, but now she couldn’t even handle said girl meeting up with other friends beside her even though Arisa had pushed her away herself.

Did she expect Kasumi to patiently wait for her to say they could hang out again, without Kasumi seeing anyone else in the meantime? She shook her head at her own stupid feelings. Why did they have to be so troublesome?

She tried living with them and maybe coming to terms with her situation, but the last straw was when Kasumi decided to hang out with a girl Arisa hadn’t recognized on the next day.

To Arisa, it was official. Kasumi didn’t need her anymore and she probably never did.

She watched as Kasumi walked off with the strange girl and didn’t even take a single glance at Arisa, who had been left standing by the gate. This was karma at its finest.

Arisa walked home again to sulk for the third day in a row. What else was she supposed to do? Crawl back to Kasumi and plead for attention? There was no way Arisa would sink that deep.

She opened the front door to Kasumi’s home and took off her shoes. Kasumi’s mother greeted her and Asuka didn’t seem to be home yet.

Without another word, she went upstairs and collapsed onto the bed. Why did she ever say she wanted Kasumi to leave her alone for a bit? Sure, Arisa needed the break and was glad to be able to spend a few days alone in her room, but doing so with her current thoughts wasted more energy than it restored.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Without realizing it, she slowly drifted into the world of dreams.

The thing to bring her back into reality was a knock at her door. Arisa squinted and tried to read the time on Kasumi’s alarm clock. 7 PM.

Still groggy, she made her way to the door to open it and see who woke her up. It was none other than Asuka, looking a little annoyed as usual. However, Arisa could see a hint of worry in her eyes.

“Were you sleeping?” was the first thing she asked to which Arisa replied with a sleepy hum. Asuka sighed and shook her head.

“Jeez, Onee-chan. You’ve been like this since Monday, did something happen?” Unfortunately, Arisa couldn’t tell her the truth and, if she really thought about it, maybe she didn’t even want to. She took a moment to come up with an excuse.

“Well...it’s no big deal, I just...remembered something unpleasant. Sorry, I don’t want to talk about it.” This probably wasn’t the best lie for this situation, but it was the best thing Arisa could come up with at that moment. She was ready to close the door, but Asuka didn’t let her.

“I understand. I won’t ask you about it, but can we at least maybe...do something together? You spend so much time alone in your room, it makes me worry about you. I...I only want you to feel better again.” She took Arisa’s hand and managed a small smile.

Arisa was surprised by how quickly she agreed. “Um, okay…” Asuka’s smile widened and she became excited. “Wait here,” she said, before storming off somewhere.

She came back with a big cardboard box. The label showed some weird round orb and Arisa wasn’t fast enough to read what exactly it was supposed to be.

Asuka entered Kasumi’s room and placed the box on the floor. She proceeded to close the curtains and pulled down the blinds. The only remaining light came from the open door, but Asuka closed it and pressed the light switch. Arisa had no idea what the girl was intending to do.

Finally, Asuka turned her attention to the box again and opened it to reveal the same orb inside. It was even more weird-looking than on the picture. Kasumi’s sister entangled the cables, plugged them in and pressed a few buttons. After she made sure it was working properly, she put a blanket in front of the door, to block off any last possible light source.

“You can lay down already,” she said to Arisa, who only blankly stared at the floor. After a few seconds, she seemed to have processed Asuka’s words and laid down on Kasumi’s carpet.

Asuka made some last adjustments on the orb and then headed for the light switch. Arisa didn’t even know what she had awaited from all this, but for some reason it had not been the scene she saw before her.

Countless lights appeared on the ceiling and formed many familiar constellations. She heard Asuka come back and lay down next to her and for a minute none of them said anything. They spend the time looking at the pretty lights and Arisa tried recognizing some of the constellations. Sure enough, she found the Great Bear and also Orion’s Belt.

However, this didn’t stop her from searching for other possible constellations and picturing what they could be portraying. Arisa had to admit, while this might wasn’t able to compete with the real night sky, it was quite amazing on its own. She found herself absorbed by the view and felt her eyes dart around all the little spots and sparkles.

“I was about to challenge you to find our star signs again,” Asuka said out of the blue, “but I forgot that you probably don’t know that anymore.” Arisa didn’t know what to answer to that. Every time she was reminded of her lie, she felt a dagger cut through her heart.

Sure, she had thought she had done the right thing, as no sane person would believe an insane story such as a body switch and Kasumi’s family might’ve sent her off to therapy or something like that. However, the mere possibility that they could have understood like her grandma, made Arisa feel miserable that she basically prevented Kasumi from seeing her family for god-knows how long.

Luckily, Asuka was there to drag Arisa out of her guilt trip. She pointed somewhere at the ceiling and Arisa tried following the line of her finger.

“See those five stars over there? You can connect them, so that they look like the character for ‘person’, see? Like this.” She drew two lines in the air, as if to imitate the way you write the aforementioned character. Arisa hummed in response.

“That’s the constellation for Cancer, your zodiac sign.” Arisa looked again and thought she knew which five stars Asuka was referring to. She tried tracing the shape with her own finger and smiled, when she was sure to see the right constellation.

“It’s...simple,” Arisa commented, a little surprised almost. Asuka blew some air out of her nose as she smiled. “Just like you.”

Arisa turned her head. “Am I really?” After she had hurt Kasumi by saying that, she had a hard time believing it was true, though it was interesting to know how others perceived Kasumi.

Asuka was silent for a moment, before answering, “No, actually. Probably not.”

Arisa turned away again to look at the projected stars and tried finding the Cancer constellation again to see if she remembered where it was and what it looked like. Kasumi’s sister also seemed to be looking for something.

“I think I found it,” she said, catching Arisa’s attention again. “Over there, I’m not sure if you can see it, but there’s this slope,” she traced it in the air, “and then at the end it looks a little like an arrow.” Arisa furrowed her brows, trying to see the shape Asuka described, but it was a lot harder this time around. The other girl noticed her confusion and tried to help her.

“It’s just under this big house shape, I’m not sure which constellation that was, but it doesn’t really matter.” Arisa found the big shape Asuka meant and looked under it. After some squinting and blinking, she finally started seeing a similar shape to what Asuka had described to her earlier.

“I think I see it,” she said to her, failing to hide the excitement in her voice. Asuka nodded and continued to explain. “That constellation is called Scorpius. It stands for the sign Scorpio.”

“Why did they name them differently? Aren’t the other ones named the same?” Arisa asked to which Kasumi’s sister shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess we Scorpios are just weird like that.”

_Wait, you’re a Scorpio, too?_ Arisa almost asked, but managed to hold herself back at the last second. It was weirdly conforming to know the two of them shared a sign, even though it probably meant nothing. She didn’t really believe in horoscopes.

“I suppose,” Arisa answered instead and looked at the constellation one more time. Knowing it had at least some loose connection to her, made it feel oddly special and she could swear it started shining a little brighter than before.

“You know, you were the one who bought the projector,” Asuka said. “It was a few years after the camping trip you remembered already. Apparently, you had seen it in the mall and bought it without any hesitation.” Both girls giggled at that. It just sounded so much like Kasumi.

“I still remember your excited face when you brought it home and tried setting it up. Of course, I ended up helping you with it.” She tilted her head a little. “And then we watched the stars together. You were absolutely astonished, your eyes glittered so much.”

Asuka turned around to look at Arisa. “Your reaction this time was a little different. Since you don’t remember I thought you’d react the same way you did back then.”

“Maybe it’s because the memories are still there, but I can’t access them. My subconscious was probably telling me, I had already seen this, so my reaction was a bit altered,” Arisa explained, surprisingly calm and precise. Since when did she become so good at lying?

“Sounds possible,” Asuka replied and turned back, without giving it much more thought. They ended up looking at the stars for a while longer.

The thing that made them stop was Arisa’s growling stomach. She hadn’t even had dinner yet. Asuka got up to turn the light back on, making both girls squint and groan as she did. It was uncomfortably bright after the ambient darkness and the weak light from the projector.

Kasumi’s sister turned the projector off, put it back into the box and was ready to bring it back, when Arisa held her arm.

“Thank you, Aa-chan. It really made me feel better.” Asuka smiled at her.

“I’m happy to hear that,” she replied and went through the door.

* * *

Arisa’s reflection stared back at her, eyes brimming with energy and determination. The girl had finally made up her mind and decided she was done sitting at home alone all the time. Today was the day she would finally hang out with Kasumi again and she would not accept ‘no’ as an answer!

She had had her three days of recharging, though it didn’t really feel as if she did, but now it was time to socialize again. She slapped her face with her palms from both sides and looked at her squished face in the mirror. It almost made her laugh, but she pulled her hands away and was left with Kasumi’s serious face. Yes, she could do it!

Her energy had been fueled even more by the fact that she had gotten Kasumi’s signature hair buns right on her first try. She proudly eyed the two triangles on her head and never would have thought to be getting so much joy out of seeing them.

She grabbed her school bag and sprinted down the stairs, startling her mother a little. “Be careful, my dear!” she heard her shout and gave her a reassuring grin. “I’m fine, Mom! I’ll be off then!”

“Have fun!” Arisa darted out of the house and made her way to the station. Her heart was beating out of excitement and she couldn’t but release her energy by running all the way to her destination. She didn’t care how stupid she looked to everyone else, today was her day! Today, she felt like she could do anything! Today she felt, dare she say, sparkling and heart-pounding!

When she arrived at school, Kasumi was nowhere in sight. Granted, Arisa came really early, so it was no surprise Kasumi hadn’t arrived yet. She stood by the gate and waited for the girl wielding her body to appear.

To her confusion, another girl came and stood next to her. Arisa turned her head slightly and recognized the girl as the one Kasumi had talked to the day prior. She didn’t say anything and blankly stared at the air in front of her.

It irritated Arisa, but she didn’t want to be rude, so she kept calmly standing next to the strange girl. What was her deal anyway? Where did Kasumi know her from?

She was tall, maybe she was a second-year, though Arisa had a feeling she had seen her somewhere before. Her long hair was perfectly straight and Arisa had to admit to herself that the girl was actually quite pretty. She could almost understand why Kasumi would ditch her for someone like her.

_What are you thinking Arisa??? You know that’s not true!_

She tried to stop thinking about the girl any longer and decided to ignore her. Unfortunately, that was when she spoke up.

“Arisa.”

“Yes?” the (currently) brunette answered out of reflex and immediately cursed herself for doing.

“You’re her friend, right? The one who didn’t want to spend more time with her.”

_Ouch._ Way to attack her. Wait, how did she even know that?

“I—” She didn’t even know how to defend herself. There was no way she could.

“Have you had enough alone-time by now? Arisa won’t hold up too long,” the mysterious girl continued. Arisa’s heart skipped a beat hearing this. Did that mean Kasumi...missed her? Needed her? _Wanted_ her?

She didn’t want to get too excited, but it had already happened. She grinned like cat, who had gotten too much catnip.

“Don’t worry, I was planning on hanging out with her today,” she replied to the girl somewhat triumphantly. The girl smiled. “Good.”

Without another word, she went through the gate and disappeared in the school building. Arisa was left with a bag of questions, but figured it was meaningless to hope for any answers at this point. Whatever her deal had been, in the end she did give Arisa the confirmation she had been craving all these days and left her feeling invincible. She almost couldn’t wait to see Kasumi again.

Lucky for her, she didn’t have to wait long before she saw a pair of familiar twintails dangling around and coming closer. She felt her heart pick up its pace inside her chest and didn’t bother hiding her huge smile.

"Arisa!" she called out and waved with her arms. Kasumi froze for a second before lunging into a sprint with a smile just as big as her friend's. She clashed into Arisa and both girls wrapped their arms around each other.

"Hey Kasumi," Arisa whispered in her ear, giving Kasumi goosebumps and a light pink stripe across her face. The (currently) blonde didn't really say anything, only enjoyed their embrace.

It took a few moments for them to separate, but when they did, they both wore the dumbest grins on their faces. They had both needed this.

"Good morning, Arisa!" Kasumi finally answered, unable to contain her happiness. It made Arisa chuckle a little. This girl was so excitable, but she found it to be rather cute.

"So, um," Arisa wanted to get straight to business, "if you want we could hang out later. After school. Today." She blinked a little nervously. Sure, the girl from before did give her confidence a little boost, but it didn't mean that the probability of Kasumi refusing her offer was equal to zero.

Judging by Kasumi's reaction, however, it might as well have been. The girl lit up with sparkling eyes and a smile wider than the galaxy. "Yes, of course!" She nodded vigorously and Arisa worried her head might fall off any second.

The (currently) brunette released a breath and smiled back. It was settled then.

They waited for their other two friends to arrive before heading to their classrooms. Only now, Arisa realized how close the four of them had become. In a way, they had already succeeded with their plan to get Rimi and Saaya to be friends. Was there even still a need for the concert?

Not necessarily, but it definitely couldn't hurt. Besides, Arisa was kind of looking forward to it herself, so there was no way she would suggest blowing it off. If anything, it would only make the girls become even closer.

Not much happened during classes or lunch. Arisa was still annoyed that Kasumi wasn’t in her class, but at least she had Saaya and Rimi. Not for long, however. After they would get their bodies back, she would be the one who would be alone in her class again. She almost didn’t want to switch back.

She quickly shook that thought away. No, she would get them to switch back, she had promised! Kasumi hadn’t seen her family in more than a week already and Arisa didn’t want that number to become even higher.

Unfortunately, she still had no leads on how to undo their switch. She had checked the forum again, but nothing helpful had come from it anymore. The strange comment from last time had left another cryptic answer and at that point Arisa didn’t bother anymore. It was probably just a troll anyway.

They haven't properly checked the rest of their leads—Arisa’s research on body swap fiction had been left alone for the most part—but their initial motivation had been used up by now.

Life went on as usual, both girls got accustomed to their new environment and, sure, they both wanted to switch back, but there wasn't really a rush, that made both of them work on a solution day and night. And apart from that, they've been preoccupied by other issues which had been clutching their attention.

Arisa let out a sigh and looked over to the window. The teacher went on and on about…honestly, she didn't even know; what class was she supposed to have anyway? It didn't really matter, she would study at home later as she would always do.

Her ears twitched when the teacher said something about midterms. Pictures of Kasumi's messy notes and failed tests came to mind. There was no way she would let that girl ruin her perfect score.

Luckily, midterms were still more than a month away, so there really was no rush. Though, now at least she had a deadline for finding a solution to their problem. Hopefully that would serve as motivation, if only temporarily.

Finally, the bell rang and the students were free to go. Arisa stretched her arms and her back. She slowly started putting her books into her bag, when someone approached her. She looked up and saw Kasumi jumping up and down in excitement.

“You’re energetic today,” Arisa commented, continuing to get all of her things. Kasumi nodded and hummed cheerfully.

“We’ll be spending time together, after all!” she replied without missing a beat, though instead Arisa’s heart did. She froze in her motion for a second, before she calmed herself down. How could it be that Kasumi was so excited about this? It seemed to good to be true.

There wasn’t anything special about Arisa and she had thought herself to be replaceable. Was that untrue? What did Kasumi see in her that she didn’t? She found herself staring at the girl in front of her. Kasumi didn’t seem to notice.

Instead, her gaze stopped on another girl that she started waving at. Arisa followed her gaze and saw none other than the weird girl from that morning. She replied to Kasumi’s wave by nodding at her and came closer (to Arisa’s annoyance).

“Hey Arisa,” she said to Kasumi. Arisa noticed the huge guitar case on her shoulders.

“O-Tae!” Kasumi replied cheerfully, making Arisa pout a little. Her smile was so cute, yet it wasn’t her who she showed it to.

“What’s poppin’?” the girl, apparently named ‘O-Tae’, asked into the room.

“Me and Kasumi are going to hang out today!” Kasumi replied, still vibrating and unable to contain her feelings of joy. Tae glanced at Arisa with a strange smile, but showed support for their plan.

“Been long since the last time, or so I heard.” Kasumi nodded. “Three days!” she complained. Arisa turned away to hide a guilty look.

“And you, O-Tae? What are you up to?” Kasumi asked, to which Tae shrugged.

“The usual, I think.” She looked to the side, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. “Though, I actually need a new amp. I think mine’s broken.”

Kasumi gasped. “Oh no! Didn’t you have two though?” Tae nodded.

“Yeah, but I like to use both. Guess, I’ll go shopping tomorrow.” Kasumi’s eyes lit up and before she could even ask, Tae already gave her an invitation.

“You wanna come? That includes you, too,” she said to Arisa, who only gave her a sceptical look before turning to Kasumi. The (currently) blonde beamed and hopped around in a circle.

“Yes!!! That sounds like so much fun, don’t you think, Kasumi?” She looked at Arisa with a huge smile, that she had a hard time saying ‘no’ to. And so she agreed. “Sure…”

“Alright,” Tae confirmed their plans with a nod, “I don’t want to hold you two up any longer. See you tomorrow.” With a wave she went by the two girls and exited the classroom.

Arisa wasn’t too fond of the fact that her plans for the next day have been decided so fast and that she would have to spend her free time third-wheeling with the two new-found friends, but there wasn’t much she could do now. Besides, the last thing she wanted was for the two of them to be alone and bond over whatever it had been that brought them together in the first place.

“Shall we go?” Kasumi asked her, all innocent and oblivious to the clouds of jealousy that had formed around her friend. Arisa pulled out a fake, unbothered smile and said, “Yes.”

The girls left their school and headed for Arisa’s house, since that was the only place where the two of them didn’t have act like each other, not that they really did anywhere else, Arisa thought after having seen how Kasumi had been around ‘O-Tae’. She really couldn’t let that go.

Kasumi didn’t seem to have thought much about it, seeing how happy she jumped around as they went home. She was humming some melodies again, which gave Arisa a hard time staying mad at her. The (currently) brunette hadn’t heard her sing yet, but for some reason was convinced Kasumi would have a beautiful voice. Was there anything this girl didn’t have?

_A brain_ , she thought to herself and snorted, making Kasumi give her a questioning look.

“Sorry, it’s nothing,” Arisa said, holding back another chuckle. Kasumi didn’t push further and they kept walking.

Soon enough, they reached Arisa’s house, where they were greeted by Arisa’s grandmother. She hugged her granddaughter with a soft, “Welcome back. It’s so nice to see you again.” Arisa had to admit, it really was nice. Unfortunately, Kasumi wasn’t able to share her feeling.

Wordless, she followed Kasumi to her room, which, luckily for the (currently) blonde, didn’t look nearly as bad as it had that one time. Kasumi learned from her mistakes and kept the room as tidy as she could.

Arisa sat down on her bed and Kasumi laid down next to her. They stayed like that for several minutes before one of them had the idea to ask, what they actually wanted to do. After the question had been thrown into the room, both of them didn’t really move from their spot as they thought of a good activity.

Not much came to mind, however. Arisa proposed her standard option of doing homework, which Kasumi quickly turned down. It had been worth a try. Kasumi still had no ideas.

“This is surprisingly hard…” the (currently) blonde commented and sat up again, turning her head towards Arisa. “What do you usually do with your friends?”

The question hit Arisa like a hammer to her chest. She knew Kasumi didn’t mean it that way, but Arisa couldn’t interpret her question as anything other than a personal attack. Her first instinct was to get defensive.

“I—” But as she thought of something to say, she noticed that there wasn’t anything there. In the end she had to settle for the sad truth, though it didn’t stop her from saying it in her coldest tone.

“Nothing. I don’t have any friends.”

It went quiet for a moment. Arisa didn’t have the courage to look at Kasumi’s face in fear of being met with a mocking smile, though she knew in her heart that Kasumi would never think of her in such a way.

“...Not before you and the others,” she added, still not meeting her gaze. Kasumi put her hand on Arisa’s.

“Sorry that I asked,” she replied, to which Arisa shook her head.

“You don’t have to apologize. You couldn’t have known.” Kasumi hid a sheepish look, even though Arisa couldn’t see it anyway.

“No, to be honest, I...I had a suspicion...I really hoped I was wrong.” Arisa turned her head in surprise. Was she so easy to see through? Was it so obvious that she had no friends?

“Sorry. I noticed how few messages you had on your phone and I also asked your grandma about it. She only said that you preferred to stay at home, though,” Kasumi explained. It did make Arisa feel a little better, but the fact that she was lonely remained.

_Not anymore_ , she heard Kasumi’s voice in her head and hoped that it was true. Arisa turned her palm upwards so that she could squeeze Kasumi’s hand. The other girl smiled at the gesture.

“I promise you, we’ll stay friends, even when we have our bodies back,” she said softly and finally Arisa was also able to show a small smile on her lips.

“Speaking of,” Kasumi continued, “did we get any closer to a cure?”

Arisa’s frown returned. She had really hoped Kasumi wouldn’t have asked. Almost reluctantly, she shook her head.

“No, not really.”

“Oh...I see.” Kasumi lowered her head and bit her lip. She felt somewhat guilty of not being able to contribute much and letting Arisa do all the work.

The silence came back. Kasumi had been so excited to spend some time together and for what? An awkward conversation? She must surely be disappointed, Arisa thought.

However, her thoughts were proven wrong, when Kasumi wrapped her arms around her, let out a sigh and rested her head on her shoulder. The (currently) brunette was of course startled by the sudden embrace, but for some reason not surprised that it came to it at all. When did she get used to Kasumi’s hugs?

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Kasumi’s. It was just as nice as she remembered it being, though it’s been only a few days since they had had such an intimate moment again. Arisa felt herself drift off.

That’s when she jerked her head to the side and flashed open her eyes. She didn’t want to repeat their night from last Friday, when the two had fallen asleep for twelve hours, specifically the part when she came home to Kasumi’s family. She had promised them not to disappear like that again.

Kasumi flinched from Arisa’s sudden movement and gave her a shocked face. “Is something wrong?”

“Ah, sorry. I just didn’t want to fall asleep again. You know, like last time,” Arisa answered.

“Aww~, did you not like sleeping with me?” The wording made Arisa’s face become the color of a tomato and she frantically shook her head.

“That’s not—I mean—” She took a deep breath and heard Kasumi giggle next to her. Sure, she could laugh about that.

“I... _did_ like us...sleeping t—next to each other…” Arisa cleared her throat, “but your family was very worried. I forgot to text them and I think they had assumed the worst. I wanted to avoid that happening again.”

Kasumi hummed in response and gained a sad look hearing Arisa mention her family.

“Are...are they doing well?” she asked. Arisa looked back at her, almost regretting bringing up the topic.

“Yeah, they’re fine,” she replied, “you have a great family.” Kasumi showed a sad smile.

“Oh, right! Your sister brought out the projector yesterday, the one that puts stars on the ceiling,” Arisa remembered.

“She did?!” Kasumi was all ears, but the sadness seemed to have vanished from her face. Arisa nodded.

“Yeah, we watched the stars together. It was really pretty! She did that to cheer me up, since I...She thought I wasn’t feeling well, since I spent so much time alone in my room.” She didn’t want to admit that she _actually_ hadn’t been feeling well and even missed Asuka’s sister.

“Wow...That’s Aa-chan for you,” Kasumi said with a chuckle. A warm expression formed on her face. Arisa was struck with an idea.

“Wait, you remember that I convinced your family that I was acting weird because I had amnesia, right?” It pained her to bring it up again, but it had to be done. Kasumi nodded.

“So, I am getting better at imitating you, or rather your personality, but I obviously don’t have your memories. Maybe you could share some with me, so that I can pretend I ‘reclaimed’ them or something. I’m sure, it’ll make them happy.”

Kasumi contemplated the idea for a moment, making Arisa a little nervous that she might refuse. However, the (currently) blonde grinned widely and lunged at Arisa, as she would usually do.

“What a great idea! That’s my Arisa, always so smart and thoughtful!”

_My Arisa…_

Arisa’s heart was beating out of her chest. Did Kasumi really just say that? She hadn’t misheard or anything, right? Blood rushed through her face and she did her best to contain her feelings of delight. Kasumi’s arms around her body didn’t make the situation any better.

“Um…” She wanted to break free from her position to gain a break from her flusteredness, but Kasumi showed no signs of letting go. Unfortunately, Arisa was too stunned for any physical advancement and so she kept sitting on the spot with Kasumi around her.

Eventually, she did let go and the (currently) brunette released the breath she had been holding the entire time. At least the tension between them vanished. Arisa really hadn’t wanted to spend their entire afternoon in awkward silence.

“Where should I start?” Kasumi wondered and put a finger to her chin.

“Whatever feels natural. What’s the first memory that comes to mind?” Kasumi thought harder.

“Well, there’s a few...Should I tell you about all of them or should we do it one by one? I mean, I’m not an expert, but I don’t think you remember everything at once when you have amnesia.”

“Obviously,” Arisa responded, “I’m not going to recite everything you’re going to tell me to your family, word for word, all at once.”

“Well, yeah, but are you even going to remember everything I tell you correctly?” Arisa gave her an annoyed look.

“Would I be top of the class if my memory was inadequate?” Kasumi let out a shocked gasp.

“Wait, you’re top of your class???” Arisa sighed. Why did it not surprise her that Kasumi didn’t know this?

“Yes and you’d know if you had been looking at my homework.” She crossed her arms. She wasn’t quite at the top—there were a few other girls that rivaled her in terms of test scores—but it was still several levels over Kasumi’s academic performance.

Kasumi looked as if she had to rethink her entire world view. Had it been that shocking to her? Arisa almost felt a little insulted.

“I had no idea…” Kasumi muttered, but seemed to slowly recover again. “So...I guess, I should just start…?” She looked back at Arisa with an expectant look and the girl gave her a nod.

Kasumi swallowed for a last time before beginning with her little story time.

“But afterwards, you’re going to tell me a few things about you, as well!”

Arisa didn’t even have time to respond, as Kasumi began retelling the story of her life with a swift, “Here we go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, I couldn't find any mention to Asuka's zodiac sign or birthday anywhere, but I kinda headcanon her to be a scorpio, so I hope that's okay with y'all :)


	6. When we decided to start a band

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy, we're catching up, I really have to get some chapters done :')  
> unfortunately we had some internet problems the last few days and since I'm writing on google docs, this meant I couldn't write at all, even though I was in a super writing mood, so that was annoying T-T  
> regardless, I did make some good progress and if I keep that pace, I'll be done with this fic very soon! ^^

“Sooo…?” Kasumi looked at Arisa with curious eyes. “How did it go? Have you told them anything yet?”

Arisa had announced that she would ‘remember’ something in front of Kasumi’s family on the previous day and Kasumi had given her plenty of material to work with. It had come with a cost however. Arisa’s cheeks heated up just thinking about all the embarrassing things she had revealed to Kasumi yesterday.

“Well,” the (currently) brunette began, “it was...not perfect, but in the end, it worked out, I think.”

Kasumi’s smile faded for a second and her expression showed that she was begging for more details. Arisa groaned internally. She really didn’t want to tell her the story, but she knew Kasumi wouldn’t let her go so easily.

Besides, now, before classes started and their friends hadn’t arrived yet, was the only time they could talk about this, seeing as their plans for the afternoon had been set in stone already.

“Alright, so…” Arisa still hesitated. She had made some stupid mistakes and retelling them to Kasumi felt like admitting her weaknesses, though she sort of had done that already by sharing the pathetic story of her life.

“You told me about that show that you watched with your sister after dinner sometimes, right?” Kasumi nodded.

“Well, I thought I could pretend to remember it before it came on…” Arisa felt her face heat up. “So I casually asked Asuka if we would watch it that day and…”

Kasumi grimaced. She had a feeling where the story would go. “The show only runs on weekends,” she finished Arisa’s sentence. “And then?”

“And then...well, she still seemed happy that I remembered _something_ , even if a bit incorrectly, so she promised to watch it with me on Sunday.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad! I’m glad if Aa-chan’s happy!” Kasumi smiled.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Arisa admitted and calmed down. It hadn’t been as bad as she anticipated. Looking at Kasumi’s smile, she was certain it had been right to jump over her shadow and tell her.

They chatted for a bit longer until their friends came and they all went to class.

* * *

Arisa had thought her and Kasumi had become friends a little too fast, but clearly she hadn’t seen Rimi and Saaya yet. The two were practically inseparable at this point. She still remembered how formal they had been around each other only a week ago and now Saaya had even come up with a cute nickname for her new best friend.

“Rimi-rin!” Kasumi repeated after Saaya. “It’s so cute! Is it alright if I call you that, too?”

Rimi blushed a little and nodded. The (currently) blonde struggled to contain her excitement and had to be reminded to play her role as ‘the indifferent Arisa’ with a push from Arisa’s leg. Kasumi composed herself and cleared her throat, suppressing her huge grin.

“I gotta say, I’m actually really excited for tomorrow,” Saaya admitted, resting her face on her palm. “I knew Yuri-senpai was in a band, but I had no idea she was Rimi-rin’s sister.” Rimi let out a nervous laugh.

“Yeah, not many people know, but I don’t mind. Glitter*Green is popular around here, but they’re not so famous that fans snoop around in the members’ private lives.”

“Honestly, I’ve always found that sort of behavior to be extremely gross and inappropriate. Sure, gossip is okay, but to go as far as violating those people’s privacy? Disgusting,” Arisa commented and her friends agreed.

“I’ve heard it’s actually a big issue and the media keeps covering it up. Happens with bigger bands though, who got a contract and all that. But at least they have a PR team that helps them with that. Smaller, independent bands don’t have such a luxury,” Saaya explained.

“Oh, but I don’t think Yuri-senpai has to worry about such things! Their fanbase seems pretty nice. I’ve talked to some fans on a few fan pages already and I don’t think they’re bad people, they genuinely love Glitter*Green.” Saaya put a comforting hand on Rimi’s shoulder upon noticing the black-haired’s scared expression. This let Rimi relax and she showed Saaya a shy smile.

“Yes, that’s the image I’ve been getting, too,” Rimi commented and took a bite from her lunch. The girls went quiet for a while, until Kasumi spoke up again.

“I wonder what it’s like to be in a band,” she asked into the air and got no response, at least not verbally. Arisa didn’t really bother thinking about the question as she had no intention of being in a band, ever.

Rimi would probably know best out of all of them, since her sister had first-hand experience, but it didn’t mean she was an expert. Meanwhile, Saaya turned her head away and stared off into the distance. Her face implied that she had an answer to Kasumi’s question, but she wasn’t intending to share it with anyone. Arisa gained a suspicion.

“I think I want to start a band,” Kasumi said quietly and Arisa choked on her lunch.

“What!?”

“Not right now,” Kasumi assured her, but Arisa didn’t seem any calmer. “But maybe after I we swi—”

The (currently) brunette kicked Kasumi’s leg again. Seriously, how careless could she be? Kasumi winced and fell silent, giving Arisa an apologetic look. Rimi and Saaya exchanged puzzled glances, but didn’t want to ask any questions.

“And how exactly do you intend on doing it? Starting a band, I mean,” Arisa tried to distract the two suspicious girls from their strange behavior. “You can’t even play any instruments as far as I’m concerned. You don’t even have any members beside yourself.”

Kasumi opened her mouth to respond, but Arisa had a sudden revelation and cut her off.

“Don’t tell me...you want to do it with that girl…” Arisa’s eyes were full of betrayal for some reason and Kasumi had no idea why. It didn’t seem like something bad, so why was Arisa so hurt by that idea?

“I…” She had no idea what to say. Was she in the wrong? Was starting a band a bad idea? Arisa was right after all, Kasumi didn’t know how to play an instrument. She wanted to learn to play the guitar from Tae and ask her to join her band, but should she do it if it made Arisa this upset? There had to be a reason for that, right?

“Sorry,” was all she managed to say in the end, in hopes of appeasing her friend. But when she turned to look at the girl, Arisa’s face didn’t show any positive reaction. Her brows were furrowed and she had averted her eyes. She tightly pressed her lips together and looked down on her half-eaten lunch. Had that been the wrong answer?

Suddenly, Arisa rose from her seat, excused herself and ran off somewhere. Kasumi wanted to follow her, but couldn’t find the strength to. She felt drained of all her energy and kept sitting there, staring longingly at the corner behind which Arisa had disappeared just a second ago.

* * *

She tried to stop the tears of frustration that started pouring out of her eyes, but failed miserably. She dared to glance behind her to see if Kasumi was following her, though she probably would’ve heard the girl by now. Arisa released a relieved but shaky breath when she found no one running behind her. The girl entered the first bathroom she came across and locked herself into the farthest stall from the door.

Hopefully nobody was there to hear her sniffles, but even if there was, what could she even do about it? In the end she stopped caring about that. She scrunched herself up on the toilet seat and burrowed her head in her knees. Why did she have to be this way?

All Kasumi wanted to do was start a band and have fun. She only wanted to try out something new and interesting with someone who could maybe help her get into it all a little easier. And Arisa?

Of course, she had to get jealous. Of course, she had to ruin her fun. How else would it be? That’s what always happened after all, she must know that by now. Did she really think it would be different this time? How could she have made such a stupid mistake?

She sighed deeply and released the tension from her shoulders. Kasumi was probably better off without her. Arisa would only ruin her life and make her sad all the time. This wasn’t what she deserved.

Arisa waited until the last second before the bell would ring and rushed over to her classroom. She was pleased to see the teacher had just arrived and none of her three friends had the chance to approach her anymore. At first, she had considered skipping afternoon classes altogether, but her own stupidity wasn’t something she would sacrifice Kasumi’s attendance over.

She noticed Rimi and Saaya throwing concerned glances at her from the corner of her eye, but she ignored them. For once, she would concentrate on class and not focus on her stupid personal issues. It went surprisingly well.

Until class ended.

She tried packing her bag as fast as humanly possible and was ready to escape to Kasumi’s home, which she knew the (currently) blonde wouldn’t approach. However, it seemed she had managed to forget her afternoon plans and flinched when an arm blocked her way out of the school.

Kasumi’s tall friend trapped her between the lockers and looked down on her with an expression Arisa couldn’t read. Yet, her brain interpreted it as scolding and condescending. Just what she deserved.

“You’re Kasumi, right?” she asked her and continued, after Arisa didn’t give her any answer. “I’m Tae.” Arisa furrowed her brows for a moment, as Kasumi had called her something different and she had thought that had been her real name.

“I think you should go with us today,” Tae said. “It would make Arisa happy, I think.” Arisa scoffed.

“No way.”

“Yes way,” Tae answered and Arisa couldn’t think of a good counter.

“Listen, Arisa is better off without me. I can’t imagine her being truly happy around me, so if you’d be so kind as to let me go—”

“I won’t.” Arisa became impatient. Where did Tae get permission to stick her nose into Arisa’s business?

She figured words wouldn’t do much, so she tried to slip by, but Tae seemed to see right through her and countered every single move she tried to make. Arisa let out a frustrated sigh and glared at the girl in front of her.

“What is your problem?” she hissed.

“I could ask you the same,” Tae replied, staring back so intensely, Arisa had to look away.

Just then, Rimi and Saaya came around the corner behind her, holding both of Kasumi’s shoulders. Arisa and Tae looked at them for a second, before the former tried making use of the distraction and run away.

However, just when she thought she had successfully passed by the tall girl, she felt a tug at her collar and swung back from the sudden force. Tae gripped her tightly and gave Kasumi the most innocent of smiles.

“Arisa~, we’re ready to go~.” Kasumi stopped in her tracks and blinked a few times, trying to understand the situation. Rimi and Saaya both turned to look at her, both wearing equally confused expressions on their faces.

Kasumi’s gaze seemed stuck to Tae at first, but she soon turned to look at Arisa, who closed her eyes and turned her head in embarrassment and guilt. This made her motivation sink even further.

Tae noticed Kasumi’s depressed aura and figured she had to take matters into her own hands. She made her way over to the three girls, still holding Arisa in that process.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take it from here,” she said to Rimi and Saaya, and grabbed Kasumi with her free hand. The (currently) blonde let out a sudden noise of surprise, but didn’t resist much. With both girls under her grasp, Tae hauled them out of the school building.

Somehow, they made it onto the train. It hadn’t been the most pleasant of walks they had taken in their lives, but somehow Tae had made it work. She was sitting between Kasumi and Arisa, who refused to talk to each other.

From Tae’s point of view, Arisa (actually Kasumi) wanted to talk to Kasumi (actually Arisa), but the latter absolutely did not want to do that, for whatever reason. Something must’ve happened between them.

Tae signed internally. She hadn’t planned on having to play marriage counselor for the two girls, but if they wanted to get anything done today, it seemed inevitable. Their little shopping trip would come in handy, it seemed.

After twenty uncomfortably silent minutes, the girls arrived at their stop. Tae held both girls’ hands, just to be sure, and led them through the streets. Arisa was embarrassed at first, but calmed down after some time. Kasumi, on the other hand, gripped Tae’s hand tightly and seemed afraid of letting go.

Soon, their destination came into view. Tae stopped without a warning, startling both girls, and stared at the big sign reading ‘Edogawa Music’. The two didn’t even have enough time to read it, before Tae started moving again.

The doors slid open for them and they heard a voice welcoming them in the shop. Tae made eye contact with the clerk, who was a girl their age and looked really familiar, at least to Kasumi.

“Rii-senpai, Code Red,” Tae said to her, which evoked immediate action from the girl. She went around the counter with a worried expression and looked between the two girls she didn’t recognize.

Out of nowhere, she pulled out a purple plush and started talking through it. “What seems to be the matter?” she asked in a squeaky voice. Arisa threw Tae a judgemental look, but the tall girl seemed unfazed.

“Don’t let the two escape.” She held out her hands, pulling Kasumi and Arisa along with her and let go abruptly. The two tumbled forward a little and faced the unknown girl in front of them.

When they turned around, Tae was gone. For a split-second, their gazes met, but Arisa quickly turned her head away, making Kasumi’s hang down. The girl with the plush analyzed the situation between them, but concluded she needed more time to make a clear assessment.

“I see you two are also from Hanasakigawa. I’m Rii Uzawa, third-year, student council member and bassist for Glitter*Green! Nice to meet you!” Without missing a beat, she held the plush in front of her face and talked in her squeaky voice again. “And I am Deboko, professional demon! Nice to meet ya!”

The girls were still a little stunned by that introduction, but Kasumi was the first one to speak up. “I’m Arisa Ichigaya and I’m a first-year. Nice to meet you!” She bowed down and Arisa figured she should do the same. “And I’m Kasumi Toyama. Nice to meet you.”

When they straightened their backs again, Kasumi was ready to bombard Rii with a swarm of questions. “Did I hear right, you’re a member of Glitter*Green??? And you also go to our school? And are also in the student council? Ohh, that’s why your face is so familiar!!”

Rii giggled over Kasumi’s excitement and played around with her plushie. “Yup, I play the bass! Being in a band is really fun!” Kasumi’s eyes lit up hearing that and hope ignited itself inside her chest.

However, it faded just as fast when she turned to Arisa to share her excitement with the girl, but was met with the same girl awkwardly averting her gaze. It made her remember what had happened at lunch time and Kasumi lost her smile again. Rii didn’t fail to notice this exchange.

_It’s worse than I expected_.

“Where’s Hinako when you need her?” she whispered to herself under her breath. Just in time, Tae came back and gave Rii some weird hand signals. The third-year nodded at her and turned to the two girls again.

“You seem to be interested in bands,” she said to Kasumi, whose eyes showed a sparkle for just one moment. She nodded, almost hesitantly.

“Y-Yeah, actually, we were going to be at your concert at SPACE tomorrow,” she said and briefly glanced over to Arisa.

“Oh, you are? Awesome! Then we’ll see each other again tomorrow!” Rii smiled at the girls. Kasumi waited for Arisa’s response, which turned out to be a silent nod. Did that mean they’d still go to the concert? Kasumi hoped so.

“Yeah…” Rii noticed Kasumi’s sad smile and knew it was time to take out different measures.

“If you want, I can play you a thing or two on the bass,” she offered to her and Kasumi instantly accepted without a second thought. The two of them made their way to the bass section and vanished from Arisa’s sight rather quickly.

Great, now she was stuck with Tae. She still didn’t know what to make of the girl. Though, she had to admit that she was somewhat glad that it hadn’t been Tae and Kasumi who ended up alone together.

“Do you hate bands?” Tae asked out of the blue. Arisa stayed silent for a while.

“No,” she answered. There was no reason for her to lie. Still, Tae gave her a sceptical look.

“Then why are you against Arisa starting a band?”

“I’m not.” Tae furrowed her brows even deeper.

“Then what’s the problem?”

Arisa silently grumbled and averted her gaze. If only she knew. Well, she did, but there was no way in hell she’d tell Tae of all people. “That’s none of your business.”

Tae stared back blankly, which made Arisa uncomfortable. It didn’t last long however. All of a sudden, she started packing out her guitar, much to Arisa’s confusion. It was a pretty blue and she couldn’t take her eyes off of it.

And then she started playing.

It was the same song she had played on the day Kasumi had approached her, the one for her old friend. A bittersweet melody. She played it and thought of her friend, hoping her feelings would reach Arisa through the music.

And they did.

Arisa let all the tension fall from her body like a heavy rock, she had been carrying around the entire time. She took in every note and let it resonate with her. It really was a beautiful song.

This had been the first moment since seemingly forever, in which Arisa felt in tune with her emotions, in which she felt free and unbothered by the world, in which she felt...nothing in particular. Only music.

And it was nice.

Soon, Tae was finished with her little performance and Arisa was greeted back into reality, which didn’t feel like it was pushing her down anymore. No, she felt light and floaty, as if a single breeze could blow her away like the petal of a cherry blossom.

“That was beautiful,” she said, mesmerized. Tae smiled. Her little plan had worked. “Thank you.”

“What song was that?”

“I wrote it myself. It doesn’t have a name. Or lyrics.” Arisa was taken aback.

“That’s...amazing. You have so much talent! I think the song is better off without lyrics anyway.” Tae shook her head.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s just that...there’s a certain person I’d like to write and sing them.” She looked at her guitar with a soft expression. Arisa saw a longing in her eyes which she recognized almost too well.

“Oh,” was all she heard herself say. She wanted to ask more questions, but felt like she would be too pushy, so she said nothing. Instead, Tae spoke up again.

“Do you understand now?”

“Understand what?”

“Arisa’s feelings.” Arisa blinked. What was she talking about? She felt her cheeks become warmer.

_Don’t get your hopes up, remember what happened._

But it was too late. Arisa felt her heart beat faster. Did Kasumi feel the same for Arisa, that Tae felt for that certain person? Surely not, no, there was no way...unless?

Tae showed her an uplifting smile. “Arisa likes you more than you think.”

The (currently) brunette’s heart made a backflip. Was that true? It couldn’t be...It seemed way too good to be. Still, it made Arisa wonder if it was actually okay for her to keep her hopes up. Maybe for once in her life, the universe would be generous to her.

Footsteps echoed through the room and Arisa heard Rii’s voice come closer. Kasumi was probably still with her. Suddenly she started to panic. She had been giving Kasumi the cold shoulder this entire time, she couldn’t just act as if nothing had happened between them.

She gave Tae a pleading look and the tall girl answered her call for help. “Talk to her,” she said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Before any of them could say anything more, Rii and Kasumi came around the corner. Rii smiled at them, while Kasumi tried her best to do so as well, but failed upon seeing Arisa again. The (currently) brunette felt guilty for being the one to chase Kasumi’s smile away, but she also knew that she probably was the only one who could return it again.

“Oh, did you show off your guitar skills?” Rii asked Tae, who confirmed her question.

“Yeah, I think Kasumi liked it.” She looked at Arisa, who stuttered “Yes,” a little too loud for her liking and looked at the ground, embarrassed. Rii let out a giggle.

“Tae-chan is really good, maybe even better than our Yuri!”

“No way, Yuri-senpai is on a whole different level than I am,” Tae said, waving around her hands in denial.

“O-Tae, you really don’t give yourself enough credit!” Kasumi chimed in, but Tae kept insisting she ‘wasn’t there yet’.

They kept dwelling on that for a few minutes until Tae remembered the reason she had come there to shop in the first place. “I need a new amp.”

Rii nodded and gestured to follow her. The two quickly disappeared somewhere, before Arisa or Kasumi could follow them. Now, they were alone and forced to talk to each other. This proved to be easier said than done, however.

Arisa kept constructing sentences in her head, but none of them seemed right. She wasn’t even sure if she should get straight to the point or try to make some smalltalk first. This resulted in multiple silent minutes in which both girls stood around awkwardly and occasionally glanced in each other’s direction.

Finally, Arisa took a deep breath and took a small step forward, making Kasumi turn her attention towards her. There was no use waiting for the perfect words to appear in her head, she should just start talking and eventually her true feelings would reach Kasumi. Yes, she simply had to believe in that. That being said she opened her mouth.

“I—” She swallowed. Kasumi’s eyes were resting on her, she could feel it. “I’m...sorry. For everything.” She released a breath. The girl in front of her was still listening.

“My behavior was...uncalled for. I had no right to act the way I did. I didn’t want to make you sad like that. It doesn’t suit you.” Kasumi frowned.

“I don’t hate bands or anything, I...I’m not against the idea of you starting one, it’s just—” Arisa’s hands formed into fists. “I...I thought it would mean you would spend less time with me.” Kasumi looked like she wanted to say something, but Arisa cut her off before she could.

“I know this sounds hypocritical, it totally is. I told you to give me space and now…” She let out a sigh. “Let’s just say, I misjudged my need for attention. I didn’t have many friends after all, but you already know that.” She stared at her feet, preparing herself for any reaction Kasumi could give her.

“Arisa…” The girl looked up and saw Kasumi with tears in her eyes. She was scared she messed up for a second, but Kasumi stepped forward and hugged her tightly. She burrowed her head in Arisa’s neck and began sobbing. Arisa lightly pat her back.

“Oh, Arisa~, I thought you were mad at me. I was so lost,” she cried. Arisa assured her that she wasn’t and continued trying to calm her down.

Eventually, Kasumi ran out of tears and let go, facing Arisa with her red eyes and running nose. Arisa replied with a small smile in hopes of cheering her up, even if only a little. To her delight, Kasumi mimicked her expression and brushed the last tears out of her eyes.

“The band was only an idea. O-Tae’s playing was just so good, I really wanted to learn to play like that, too. And then the idea of starting a band came to me so naturally…”

“You don’t have to justify yourself. I was in the wrong here,” Arisa said. “Besides, I totally get it now. Tae is insanely good.” Kasumi nodded in agreement.

“I think I still want to start a band. But you could join us! There’s nothing speaking against that! Even if you don’t want to play an instrument, you could maybe be our manager or something, smart as you are!” She giggled and squeezed Arisa’s hand. How could she possibly say no to that angelic smile?

“...Okay, I’ll do it,” Arisa said with red cheeks, making Kasumi jump up in joy.

“Really??? You’re really going to start a band with me??”

“Yes, yes! Keep it down, will you?” Arisa glanced around, but luckily she couldn’t spot any other customers in the shop. Kasumi grinned at her.

“Can you play any instruments?” she asked her.

“Well, I played the piano when I was younger…”

“But that’s perfect! You can be the keyboardist! If you want to, of course!” Kasumi’s eyes showed a hint of fear that Arisa would refuse, but she didn’t feel pressured by it. Still, she decided to comply.

“No, I...I think I’d like to play the keyboard. Shouldn’t be too different after all. My skills might be a little rusty though.”

“That’s no problem! I haven’t even started learning to play the guitar, I don’t even have one! To be honest, I was hoping to find one here maybe…” She looked around, but it seemed they were in a completely wrong aisle.

“Do you...do you want to go and find one?” Arisa asked and Kasumi lit up. “Yes!”

They began to walk around the store, keeping their eyes open for any guitar-shaped objects they could see. In the end, the right aisle hadn’t been far and in front of them was a nice assortment of guitars in various shapes and colors. Kasumi’s eyes sparkled.

“Whoa…!” She was stunned by all the different kinds and didn’t know which ones to look at first. “They’re all so cool!”

“And really pricey,” Arisa commented, looking through the price tags. Kasumi followed her example and felt her soul leave her body upon seeing the big numbers.

“My dream...has been shattered,” she said dramatically, falling to her knees in despair. Arisa rolled her eyes, but chuckled slightly.

“Don’t give up yet. Maybe you can find a cheaper one on the internet or you can buy second-hand.” Kasumi stood up again and nodded with a hum.

“Seems like you two made up,” they heard Rii say and turned around to see her and Tae, who was holding a new amplifier in her hands.

“We’re done,” Tae announced. “Are you?” Arisa and Kasumi turned to each other and agreed that, indeed, they were. Rii (and Deboko) wished them all the best and the three first-years left the shop again.

“It’s good that you two are back to normal,” Tae said to them. Maybe ‘normal’ wasn’t the best word she could’ve used, since their normal seemed to change by the minute, but they knew what the girl meant.

“Yeah, I think so, too,” Kasumi commented and grabbed Arisa’s hand. The (currently) brunette blushed and yanked her hand away.

“S-Stop it! Not here, it’s too embarrassing…!” Kasumi only giggled.

“But you’re cute when you’re embarrassed!” This made Arisa become even more flustered. Tae smiled at the sight of them.

“Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tae waved her hand and headed home, leaving Arisa and Kasumi by themselves again.

“Guess we should go home, as well,” Arisa said and Kasumi agreed.

“So, um…” the (currently) blonde spoke up as they started walking, “about tomorrow. I know we’ll see each other in the evening, but I thought...maybe we could do something in the morning together? Or around noon?” Arisa let the thought roam around her head.

“Sure, if you have any good plans. I just don’t want us awkwardly sitting around with nothing to do, you know?” Kasumi let out a thoughtful hum. Arisa did have a point.

“Umm...I don’t know, we could...search for guitars online!” Kasumi proposed proudly.

“That’s it?” It didn’t seem to be enough for Arisa. Kasumi had to think a little harder.

“If we’re at it, we could also search for a keyboard for you! I didn’t see one at your house, so…” She looked at her friend, hoping she would accept her offer. However, Arisa seemed to be deep in thought.

“Wait...You might be onto something here.” Kasumi tilted her head.

“I am?”

“Well, you probably know that my family has a pawn shop, right?” Kasumi nodded. “Maybe we can find something useful there. I remember we had a violin once, though we already sold that one. But still, that means we could maybe find another instrument there or at least a part of one.” Kasumi’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, let’s do that!! I already can’t wait, it sounds like so much fun!!!” She beamed and hopped around; Arisa couldn’t help but smile. She was too adorable.

They kept chatting and walked up to the station, where they had to separate. Kasumi turned around to face her with a soft look that made Arisa’s stomach twist a little.

“Today was...something,” Kasumi began, trying to convert her thoughts into words, “It had ups and downs, but...as weird as it sounds, I’m happy today happened.” She gave her a smile that said, it was okay if Arisa didn’t know what she meant. Still she continued explaining.

“Things like these don’t happen without a reason. I feel like this would’ve happened sooner or later anyway and honestly...I’d rather have it happen sooner, so that we get it out of the way.”

“But what if it keeps happening? What if we keep fighting all the time for the rest of our lives? What if the fights just won’t end?” Arisa hated that she let the pessimist inside her speak, but at the same time she really hoped Kasumi would have answers that would satisfy her. Kasumi did, in fact.

“Then we’ll just make it stop! If the fights are caused by us, then they can be stopped by us! We just gotta believe and work hard!” She flexed her biceps and put on a determined smile. Arisa stared at her in awe. Was there something this girl couldn’t do? Probably not.

“Also, I believe this fight made us closer. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I got to know you better somehow. I mean, it wasn’t a bad thing, we just misunderstood each other, but we talked it out and now we’re good again! I feel like we learned something.”

Arisa had never considered looking at it from this perspective. Kasumi was right, wasn’t she? They hadn’t just learned things about each other, they also had learned things about themselves! At least, Arisa knew she did. And she had been able to overcome some of her fears.

“That’s so crazy,” she muttered to herself. Kasumi giggled and took her hand again. Arisa didn’t protest this time.

“My train comes soon, so we’ll have to wrap things up! Thank you for today, I feel like a new person now!” Arisa nodded. “Likewise.”

“We’ll see each other tomorrow then! When do you want to come?” Arisa thought for a second.

“Maybe 11? Or is that too late?”

“No, it’s perfect!” Kasumi assured her. “11 it is! See you tomorrow!” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on Arisa’s cheek, before running up to the platform. She turned around one last time and waved with a huge grin on her face.

Arisa barely managed to raise her hand and only seconds later, Kasumi’s train came and the girl went inside. Only after Kasumi had vanished from her sight, Arisa processed what exactly had happened just a few moments ago.


	7. When we went to a concert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the longest chapter so far! almost as long as the first^^  
> concerts are so cool, I should have been at my first concert like a year ago but they kept putting it off and rn it's sceduled for next may just days after my birthday actually and I really hope it stays that way, that'd be very cool :D  
> anyway, please enjoy the imho last good chapter :')

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.

Arisa took an angry bite from her apple. She wasn’t really angry, how could she be? Kasumi had _kissed_ her. On her _cheek_. It was like a dream come true.

She remembered the soft feeling of the girl’s lips and the damp spot it had left. Too bad, she had taken so long to notice. Everything that had happened after that was a blur. As far as she could remember she almost missed her train and got a little lost on the way home, but found it in the end, of course. Asuka had been a little worried about Arisa’s mental absence.

_If she knew…_

But she didn’t, so Arisa had to deal with the aftereffects of Kasumi’s kiss all by herself. Of course, this included a sleepless night, a few embarrassed breakdowns and constant mood swings.

Sure, Arisa was happy that it happened, but did Kasumi have any idea what it did to Arisa? She had awakened a force she might wasn’t ready to face yet. Arisa was angry, but in the best way possible, because with one action Kasumi had given her a multitude of emotions.

Most prominent was her hope. The hope that the kiss was a sign Kasumi liked her, maybe even more than just a friend. Because if Arisa really thought about it, her own feelings for Kasumi couldn’t possibly be of just friendly nature. It made no sense with the context of her actions and other feelings, namely the jealousy and anxiety.

Logically speaking, it seemed Arisa was in love.

Surprisingly enough, she didn’t have much trouble admitting it to herself. All because Kasumi had given her hope that she might felt the same way. A kiss on the cheek held a lot of romantic undertones after all.

But friends sometimes do that too, don’t they? Arisa knew Kasumi was an affectionate person, who would regularly overstep people’s boundaries, so the kiss wasn’t concrete evidence. Still, Arisa wanted to believe, but it was hard when you were a born over-thinker.

She kept imagining what would happen if she were to confess to Kasumi and the girl would reject her, ruining their friendship forever. And Arisa would spend the rest of her life alone, never opening up to anyone ever again, eternally sulking and longing for Kasumi.

Arisa shook her head. No, even if Kasumi didn’t like her back, she wouldn’t end their friendship over that, right? She promised the two of them would stay friends, even after the body swap; she just had to believe.

Yet, the picture of Kasumi’s disgusted face kept flashing inside her head. Arisa absolutely didn’t want to risk anything, let alone their bond, which seemed so fragile since it had been built in the span of nearly two weeks. If it had been years, it might be easier, because the bond would be stronger, Arisa thought, but it would also be a much higher loss if the bond was to break.

_If the bond is that weak to begin with, maybe I’m better off without it._

But Arisa was still nervous. No, she really didn’t want to risk it. Kasumi actually wasn’t her first crush. She had been in love with a girl back in middle school, but that had turned out to be a disaster. Arisa shuddered only thinking about it. No, this time she was smarter.

The thing she needed to do was get confident enough that Kasumi really liked her back. She would need to gather more evidence and be absolutely sure of it. This was the only way she could guarantee that a potential confession would go well. Arisa had made up her mind.

Lucky for her, she would get to spend the majority of her day with the girl, meaning she would have plenty of time and opportunity to look for any signs of romantic attraction towards her. She also thought about asking her friends if they thought she had a chance with Kasumi, but admitting her crush to other people was still out of her comfort zone. She would have to do it by herself.

With all that in mind, Arisa walked over to her house. She greeted her bonsai, who had seen better days, but also could’ve looked a lot worse, so she let them be. Her grandma had been in the kitchen, when Arisa entered the house, and smiled warmly at her granddaughter upon seeing her.

“Kasumi-chan is upstairs,” she told her. “Should I call you to lunch when it’s done?”

“Yes, thanks Granny!” She kissed her grandma on the forehead and headed towards her room. She announced herself with a knock and opened the door, without waiting for a response.

Kasumi turned around, still wearing her pyjamas and was apparently surprised to see Arisa. “Arisa! You’re here already?”

“What do you mean ‘already’? Look at the time,” she said, holding out her cell phone.

“Ehh???” Kasumi frantically looked around and held her hands to her head. Arisa followed her with her eyes, as the (currently) blonde paced around the room.

“Umm...can I help?” she asked the restless girl, who immediately turned to her with puppy eyes. “Please~.”

Arisa sighed. She really couldn’t refuse her, could she? At least, now she knew exactly why.

“Okay, so...what’s going on?” Kasumi turned their attention to Arisa’s bed, which had several of Arisa’s clothes laying around on it.

“I don’t know what I should wear today! You have so many pretty clothes, it’s hard picking only one outfit,” Kasumi explained. So that was what the whole thing was about? For some reason, Arisa wasn’t surprised.

“Just pick something,” the (currently) brunette suggested, but that was exactly the thing Kasumi was struggling with.

“I can’t! It’s too hard to decide…” She let her shoulders hang down and put on a pouty expression. Arisa stepped forward and took a closer look at the pieces of clothing. Kasumi had created some cute outfits from her wardrobe, some of which she had never even considered before.

Admittedly, Arisa was curious to see how Kasumi would dress herself with her own clothing, but seeing how overwhelmed she seemed with the task, Arisa concluded she should just pick something for her. Her hand hovered over a few shirts as she thought of the things she usually wore. Should she try something bold this time?

For a second she understood Kasumi’s dilemma. There sure were multiple good combinations and the choice seemed tough at first, but Arisa quickly settled for a favorite.

“Here.” Arisa held out a yellow skirt and a top with a grey plaid pattern on it. Kasumi curiously took and stared at them, before she smiled and eagerly started undressing, startling Arisa, who tried covering her eyes.

As she thought about it, it didn’t seem necessary, since they were both girls and it was her own body anyway, which she had seen countless times, but she still felt uncomfortable staring at the other girl. Kasumi didn’t seem to mind and happily put on the clothes Arisa had given to her. When she was done, she admired herself in the mirror and twirled around a few times.

“How cute!!” she cheered and turned to Arisa with a wide grin. “Of course, you would know what looks good on you, though I refuse to believe you could ever _not_ look pretty!”

Arisa became flustered and stammered some words, none of them comprehensible in any way. Kasumi giggled and began doing her hair. After about ten more minutes, she was finally ready.

“Shall we go?” she asked Arisa and the (currently) brunette lead the way. They went over to the store room of the pawn shop, which was a lot dustier than Arisa remembered.

Various boxes were laying around and the room seemed very cluttered, despite there being enough room to walk around. The only light came from the high, narrow windows and the door through which the two girls had entered.

“Let’s get this over with,” Arisa said with a sigh and walked over to the furthest corner. Her plan was to work herself through, back to the entrance. Meanwhile, Kasumi inspected every single item she came across and couldn’t stop enthusing over them. This could take a while.

Arisa was surprised to find how many of the boxes were actually empty and began folding them together to put them away so that the room became less messy. She also found some old stuff, which had been there since she had been a child. Most of it was broken in some way or simply out of fashion, so it wasn’t really a surprise no one had wanted to buy it for such a long time.

She smiled looking at the nostalgic things and remembered how she sometimes used to play with them. “Did you find something?” she heard Kasumi say from somewhere behind her.

“Just some old junk,” Arisa answered her, but the other girl still came over to look. “It’s been here, since I was a small child. Nothing special.”

“What do you mean ‘nothing special’? It’s totally special!” Kasumi said with sparkling eyes.

“How so? No one wanted to buy it for such a long time, doesn’t that mean it’s worthless?” The (currently) blonde stared back at her, almost offended.

“Who cares about what others think? It _you_ who gives the thing a value!” Arisa blinked. “If you decide that the thing is important, then it is! Easy as that!”

“But what would be so important about all this stuff?” Arisa asked sceptically, putting her hands on her hips.

“You just said, you still remember it from back when you were little. Don’t tell me you don’t have any nice memories from these things. Maybe you used to play with them or try to sell them to the customers or something.” Arisa knew for a fact that she did.

She picked up an old lamp and remembered how she tried to advertise it to some old ladies who came by one day. They had smiled at her and politely refused, prompting little Arisa to give up immediately. Yup, this was the kind of person she used to be.

“I guess you’re right,” she admitted. Maybe all these memories really gave them value. Kasumi grinned and continued telling her theory.

“The same thing applies to people as well.”

“Eh?”

“Your value isn’t determined by the amount of people who like you. If there’s only one person out there who thinks that you matter then your life is worth the same as everyone else’s.” She suddenly grabbed Arisa’s hand and leaned forward, whispering into her ear.

“So, don’t you ever think you’re worthless. As long as I live, your life will always have value.” She pulled back to see a bright red Arisa and squeezed her hand. “But even without me, there are so many people that love you. You will always matter.”

Arisa didn’t know what to say. Her heart was racing and her mind was filled with so many thoughts that she eventually drew blank. How did Kasumi know the exact words that Arisa needed to hear?

Self-worth had always been a complicated topic for Arisa. She knew that her family loved and valued her, but for some reason, that didn’t really count in her eyes. A family always loves their child, it’s a basic requirement, she thought. So, Arisa started looking at everyone else.

She saw the popular kids at school and how many friends they had. It made her self-conscious, since her friend count had been close to zero for the majority of her life. Sure, she used to have some close friends, but those had been forced to leave her life in one way or another. And it had always been inevitable.

At least, that was the conclusion to which Arisa had come. And then, there had been Arisa’s first crush. For once in her life, she had gathered all of her courage to confess to the girl, only to be rejected in the worst way imaginable. To call it ‘impactful’ would be an understatement. Her self-worth had been severely damaged that day and still hadn’t fully recovered.

But now, everything was different. Kasumi had come into her life and had opened Arisa’s eyes. For the first time in her life, she felt like the world had a plan for her and wouldn’t be the same without her. Would Kasumi miss her if she didn’t exist?

_How can you miss a person you don’t even know exists?_

Arisa had to think of all the times she had felt lost in life. In those moments she had always wanted someone to help her, someone to take her hand and lead her out of her misery. Maybe it had been Kasumi she had been secretly calling for all these years. Maybe it had been Kasumi who had been missing from her life this entire time. This was her answer to her question.

And now, Kasumi was here, right before her, holding her hand and smiling with the softest expression Arisa had ever seen on her own face. Granted, it still weirded her out a little bit, but the body swap was only temporary. Their bond was forever.

Arisa held Kasumi’s hand tighter and swore to never let go.

* * *

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Arisa’s grandma asked the girls, as they were sitting at the table and eating the freshly cooked food the elderly woman had prepared for them.

“Not yet,” Arisa answered and took a bite.

“But we found so many other cool things!” Kasumi chimed in and started rambling about all the weird or interesting items she had seen. Arisa’s grandma listened to her with a peaceful smile.

“The shop is really cool! What gave you the idea to open one?” she asked when she was finished.

“Oh, you know,” the older woman began, “my mother used to collect everything she came across and never threw anything away. Our house was always so cluttered. After she passed away, I decided to sort the things out and thought it might be better to sell some of them than to throw them away.” Kasumi showed an understanding nod.

“Our first plan was to sell the things on the flea market, but after we noticed how many of them we had, we decided to open a small pawn shop. It quickly caught on in the neighborhood and soon we got customers from all over the place.”

“Whoa,” was all Kasumi could say. “So inspiring.” Arisa threw her a questioning look, but didn’t comment. Her grandma chuckled slightly.

“Are Arisa’s parents going to continue the shop one day? And then give it to Arisa afterwards?”

“Probably not,” Arisa stated in between a bite. Kasumi turned to look at her.

“Why not?” she asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“They’re too busy with work. The shop doesn’t earn us that much, since we not only sell but also buy things from customers. We don’t do it for profit, so it has no use for my parents.”

“Maybe they’ll change their minds when they get older?”

Arisa scoffed. “As if.”

Arisa’s grandma said nothing. She stared at the table and looked to be deep in thought. Kasumi looked between them and pressed her lips together, trying to think of something to lighten the mood again.

“Then...Then I’ll take it over, when the time has come!” The other two turned to her with surprised faces.

“ _You?!_ ” Arisa almost choked. “Do you have any idea what that even means?” Kasumi tilted her head.

“I think, I do, yes. Or do you think there’s something I overlooked?” Arisa held her hands over her face. This girl would drive her crazy one day.

“Kasumi, running a shop like that is not easy. Besides,” she glanced at her grandma with a hesitant look, “we don’t know when Grandma won’t be able to run it anymore. You might already have a stable job by then. Giving it up for this lousy shop would be nearly idiotic!”

Kasumi stared back at her with a weirdly affectionate expression, that made Arisa unsure of what was going on inside the girl’s head.

“Aww, Arisa~, you don’t have to worry about me like that. I’ll just do both!”

“Huh?” The (currently) brunette almost fell from her seat. You’d have to be insane to suggest such a ridiculous idea. But Kasumi was serious.

“Seriously, what is wrong with your head? You’ll overwork yourself to death!” Arisa exploded, but Kasumi shrugged her concerns off.

“I’ll find a way! Nothing is impossible! Oh!” She gained an idea and lit up, giving Arisa a bad feeling. Kasumi’s ideas were either pure genius or unbelievably stupid and there was no in-between.

“Are you maybe worried that our houses are so far apart? I could just start living here with you!”

“Ehhhh???” That girl was really something else. Was that the only concern she saw in this whole thing? “No way!!! That’s—Just, no! Besides, my parents would never let you do that!”

“Why not?” Kasumi asked, seemingly unbothered.

“Who would let a stranger live in their house?”

“Ehh~? I’m no stranger, I’m your friend!”

“Yeah, but my parents don’t know you. They have no reason to give you special treatment just for being friends with me.” Kasumi pouted at first, but seemed to have gotten another idea.

“Then I’ll just marry you and become your wife! Then I’d be part of the family and there shouldn’t be an issue anymore!”

Arisa opened her mouth to say something, but noticed that she couldn’t. She had no argument against that. The girl calmed down and was ready to admit defeat, when the meaning of Kasumi’s words hit her like a bus.

“M—M—M—MARRY ME???!!!” Kasumi giggled at her and took a carrot slice into her hand. She then turned to look at Arisa with an overdramatic expression, grabbed her hand and held the carrot between them.

“Arisa, would you like to be my wi—”

With a squirmish shout, Arisa yanked her hand away and nearly fell backwards in her chair. Kasumi put her hand over her hand to hold back her laughter, but ultimately failed. The other girl glared at her with a face reminiscent of a tomato.

“Very funny,” she complained and turned back to her lunch. Kasumi’s laughter continued.

“Sorry, sorry,” the amused girl said, wiping some small tears out of her eyes. “You’re just so cute when you’re mad like that.”

_You should be lucky, you haven’t seen me_ actually _mad,_ Arisa thought, but kept it for herself. It wasn’t the prospect of marrying Kasumi that annoyed her, but rather the fact that it had been a joke.

Not that Arisa was ready for marriage, but the thought of marrying Kasumi one day left a good feeling inside her. Was it bad for her to have such dreams? Good thing, Kasumi couldn’t hear them. Though, being as she is, Kasumi probably wouldn’t catch on anyway.

Arisa sighed. Wanting to marry a person you came to know only two weeks ago was something she had seen in movies and soap operas a lot and she had always mocked the characters for it. How could she not, it was so irrational and naive after all. Seems like this wasn’t the end of her own hypocrisy.

She had been so caught up with Kasumi’s shenanigans that Arisa only now noticed her grandma had gone somewhere and wasn’t sitting with them anymore. Kasumi just finished her lunch and slouched on the chair, patting her belly.

“Arisa’s grandma makes such good food~,” she blabbered and turned her head towards Arisa with a dreamy grin, “I wonder if Arisa’s food is also that tasty…”

The (currently) brunette didn’t answer. Her cooking wasn’t the worst, but nowhere near her grandma’s level. Kasumi didn’t need to know that.

“Who cares. Let’s clean up.” Arisa rose from her seat and started collecting the dirty plates. She encouraged Kasumi one more time, when the latter let out a groan, but joined in eventually.

Arisa’s grandma hadn’t returned even after the two were finished with their clean-up, so Arisa figured she might have gone to take a nap or something like that. As she looked at the clean table, their conversation from earlier came back into her mind.

“Kasumi,” she grabbed the other girl’s attention.

“Hm?”

“Um...so, hypothetically speaking, I’m just curious is all, um…” She fiddled around with her hands as she tried pushing out her words. “Would you, uh, really ma—...marry me? I’m asking this just for fun! Not like I’d like to marry you or anything, well maybe not now, but _if_ I wanted to, I’d like to do it when I’m older, which doesn’t mean I’d like to marry you! But like, I’m not totally opposed to it, like if you wanted to I might say yes, but no pressure! This is all hypothetical!!! There’s nothing deeper behind it!!!”

Kasumi blinked at her after her ramble and Arisa had no idea what she was thinking. Finally, the girl started giving her an answer.

“ _Hypothetically_ ,” she began with a grin, “yeah. I’d marry you.” Arisa waited for her to say more, but Kasumi was finished. She pointed at the door with her head, as if to ask if they should go and continue their search.

“Okay,” was all Arisa heard herself say and slowly took a few steps towards it. Kasumi smiled and took her hand. Arisa didn’t have the mental capacity to do anything about it. Kasumi had left her speechless.

“Shall we go?” the (currently) blonde asked her, tilting her head a little. The girl beside her barely managed a nod.

And so they went back to the store room.

Luckily, Arisa’s head became a little clearer on the way there, so that she could calm down from her emotional turmoil. It didn’t dissolve, only got pushed away, but that alone was enough. She could deal with everything later, for now she tried to concentrate on finding something they could use.

They had searched for about ten minutes, when Kasumi stopped in the middle of the room and stared at a big red case, which was leaned against the wall.

"What's in there?" she asked, turning her head towards her friend.

"Ah, that one. Honestly, no idea. The lock got stuck after Grandma put something in there, but even she has forgotten by now." Kasumi let out a thoughtful hum and slowly approached the case.

Arisa told her to be careful with it and intended on turning away again, but found herself curious to see if Kasumi would have any success in opening it and revealing its contents.

Slowly, the girl ran her fingers across the edges and searched for the broken lock. It looked fine from the outside, but Kasumi was still intent on using as little force as she could when she tried to open it. No dice.

She gave Arisa a disappointed look, but wasn't going to give up just yet. She grabbed the lock again and pushed it a little harder this time. Still nothing. A sigh came from her lips.

Using even more force seemed risky and Kasumi didn't want to break the lock for good, but she had to try. Third time's the charm, they say. So she pushed again, but to no avail. She let out a breath as she let go of it.

"It's really tough," she noted, wiping some sweat off her forehead.

"I told you so," Arisa commented from across the room and finally turned away. So there _were_ limitations to what Kasumi could do.

For some reason, it was nice to know that the girl was still bound to the laws of physics, but Arisa couldn't help but notice a little disappointment dwelling inside her. Kasumi had already made so many impossible claims and promises and Arisa had really believed she could keep them. Knowing there was a chance she couldn't, left Arisa with an uncomfortable doubt in her heart.

A loud thud made her turn around again and she saw Kasumi had put the case on the floor in its entirety. She really didn't know when to give up, did she? Arisa smiled to herself and let the girl do whatever she needed. She trusted Kasumi and let her try as many times as it would take for her to be satisfied, though Kasumi wouldn't leave her another choice anyway.

For a few minutes, Arisa continued rummaging around in the boxes in front of her, hearing Kasumi's tinkering in the background. It was oddly comforting and she started humming a melody to herself, which she knew she heard somewhere, but couldn't remember the context anymore.

Suddenly, a sound echoed through the room, leaving behind a short-lived silence, which was then broken by Kasumi's loud cheering.

"I did it, Arisa! It's open!" The (currently) brunette spun around and stared at the open lock on the case, which was only waiting to be opened again after god-knows how long.

Kasumi waited for Arisa to come closer before she grabbed the upper half and slowly lifted it up. Upon seeing the object inside, both girls let out a gasp and Arisa didn't even have to look at Kasumi to know her eyes were sparkling at the very sight of it.

Resting inside the case was a red, star-shaped guitar, shining in the ray of sunlight that had decided to hit it in that exact moment. It looked almost new, showing only few signs of use, though the strings on it had seen better days.

The two girls sat there for a moment, unable to close their mouths or form any coherent sentences. This was too perfect to be true. Arisa expected to be woken up from this dream at any minute, but when she held onto the girl next to her, she knew that this was reality. And it seemed, it had decided to be generous to them.

After the long minutes they had spend staring at the guitar, Kasumi dared to reach out and touch it. The plastic was smooth and cold, but the strings were quite rough in comparison. She stroked it a few more times, before she picked it up fully and placed her hands accordingly.

Of course, she still lacked experience and was only imitating the way she had seen guitarists hold their instruments, but in this moment it didn't matter. She pulled at one of the strings and gasped when she heard it make a sound.

Arisa didn't seem nearly as surprised as she was still contemplating their luck. What were the chances of them finding a whole, fully functional guitar at Arisa's house, which even fit Kasumi's aesthetic perfectly? It seemed unreal.

She was torn out of her thoughts when she heard a sniffle next to her. Instantly, Arisa turned her head to see Kasumi cry, with the guitar still at hand.

"Kasumi!" she called out in concern and wrapped her arms around the girl, who happily leaned against her in return.

"I'm so happy, Arisa. This is a miracle! Please tell me you see it too and it's not all just a dream!" Arisa stroked her arm and calmed her down.

"Yes, Kasumi, this is real. It's absolutely, undoubtedly real. I can hardly believe it myself, but…there's no denying it." Kasumi sniffled again, but lifted her head up to face Arisa. A smile formed on her lips.

"This has to be fate. The universe wants us together."

Arisa's heart made a jump, before she realized Kasumi probably meant her and the guitar. Still, the idea of the universe actively trying to pair her off with Kasumi let her heart go crazy for just a little longer.

If only Kasumi could look at her the way she looked at the guitar right now. Maybe she already did and Arisa didn't notice. She laughed at herself in her head. No way. This was just wishful thinking now.

“This is the best day of my life!” Kasumi whispered and continued crying her tears of joy. Arisa comforted her with a warm smile and let her eyes wander over the guitar. She had a lot of questions, for example what model or how old it was, but that wasn’t something she could just tell by looking, so she made a mental note to look it up on the internet later.

Soon enough, Kasumi seemed to have calmed down a little, at least to the point she didn’t cry anymore. She kept holding the guitar close to her chest and couldn’t stop smiling. It seemed nothing could ruin this day for her.

“You should get a new case though. The lock on that one could get stuck again,” Arisa recommended and pointed at the old one.

“Yeah,” Kasumi agreed, “Should I just hold it like this in the meantime then?”

“I mean, what else can you do? I don’t think we have a similar case here and putting it in a box would make it even harder to carry around.” Arisa looked around the room for a last time to make sure her claims were right and turned around with a resigned expression.

“By the way,” she started speaking again, “how did you manage to open it? Even my Dad struggled with it and he’s not someone I would consider weak.”

Kasumi smirked in a mysterious way and cackled quietly. Who was she, a witch?

“I have my ways.” _What’s that supposed to mean?_

Arisa gave up waiting for a normal answer and started cleaning up some of the boxes she had been digging through. The other girl joined in and it only took them a few minutes to get the room to its former state, minus the guitar case of course.

One look at the clock revealed that they still had time before they would meet up with the others for the concert. A lot of time, actually.

“So, I have an instrument now, but you still need one right?” Kasumi asked to which Arisa nodded. “Maybe we can go back to that music shop where we had been with O-Tae last time? They should have keyboards, right?”

“I think I’d rather buy one online, maybe even second-hand. That’s cheaper,” Arisa replied. The other girl nodded in understanding.

“Actually, we could do that now,” the (currently) brunette suggested and both girls headed towards Arisa’s room. They sat down on the bed and pulled out their phones, since Arisa was too lazy to start the computer.

“Do you know what kind of keyboard you want?” Kasumi asked her.

“Mmm, not sure. Probably something simple. It also depends on what kind of music we want to make.” Kasumi blinked.

“The kind of music we want to make…” she repeated and sunk into her thoughts. The girl next to her sighed and typed in ‘keyboard’ into the search bar. They had already established that Kasumi actually had no idea what she was doing, so her lack of planning didn’t even come as a surprise anymore. In fact, Arisa had been anticipating it. What would Kasumi only do without her?

She turned back to Kasumi, who was still thinking and showed no sign of getting closer to an answer. At least her expression showed that she took the band seriously and not like just another impulsive idea.

“Sorry, I can’t come up with anything right now,” Kasumi sighed and let her head and shoulders hang down.

“It’s fine,” Arisa reassured her, “maybe you’ll gain an idea after the concert. There will be some other bands beside Glitter*Green, so you’ll have a small variety to start with.” Kasumi showed her a thankful smile and seemed to be in high spirits again.

“Thank you for supporting me like this,” she said, taking Arisa’s hand. She did that a lot recently.

“C—Cut it out! It’s nothing worth mentioning,” Arisa replied with a red face and slipped her hand out of Kasumi’s. The (currently) blonde only smiled at her, making Arisa blush even more.

“A—Anyway,” she tried changing the topic, “we can still look at a few keyboards, I don’t have to buy one today.” Kasumi agreed and got closer to get a better look at Arisa’s screen. It did make the other a little nervous again, but she was able to ignore it after she immersed herself into the world of online shopping.

They browsed the internet for probably a lot longer than they should have and in the end Arisa bookmarked a few products that were either very versatile, had a good price or were simply cool (in her opinion). Arisa had been very fascinated by the functions some of the keyboards had, but also very appalled by their pricing. Good thing, Kasumi hadn’t touched any of her allowance or else it would’ve gotten ugly.

It was almost time to go, so they went downstairs to get another snack before they would head off. Arisa’s grandma wished them a nice evening and the girls made their way to Yamabuki bakery, where they had promised to meet with the others.

When the two arrived, Rimi was already there, munching on a chocolate cornet and happily chatting with Saaya. The two looked like a couple, seeing how close they were leaning into each other’s personal space and how often their gaze would meet without either of them getting uncomfortable or flustered.

Arisa and Kasumi almost didn’t want to barge into their banter, but it had to be done if they wanted to get to the concert in time, though it was still relatively early and they would probably hang around the livehouse for a while. The bell above the door announced their arrival and the two girls in the shop turned to them with excited expressions.

“There you are!” Saaya greeted them and grabbed her purse from the counter. Rimi also got her belongings and together they left the bakery.

“I’ve been looking forward for this the entire week long,” the black-haired said and got agreement from all sides.

“Yeah, me too! Even now, I’m still hyped!” Kasumi replied with a huge grin. Even Arisa wore a constant smile on her lips.

Soon enough, they arrived at SPACE and were surprised to see a long queue leading inside the venue.

“Whoa, I didn’t expect so many people to be here,” Saaya remarked, “but then again, I don’t really go to concerts anymore.”

“Anymore?” Arisa asked, raising an eyebrow. The other girl struggled to find an answer.

“It’s...a long story. Let’s keep it at that for now.” Arisa was still curious, but knew not to push further. She glanced at the other two, who showed no reaction to the exchange, and wondered if they knew the answer or simply hadn’t paid attention.

“There’s the line-up,” the brunette changed the topic and pointed at a chalk board where the band names were written. Glitter*Green would go second to the last. Rimi seemed to be the only one, who recognized any of the other bands and showed excitement for some of them as well.

“The first band is also great! I saw their show a few months ago and I really enjoyed it! I’m glad to see them doing well.” She told them a few facts about some of the bands and their wait passed by sooner than they expected.

They paid for their tickets and stayed in the entrance area for the time being. Arisa felt a little dizzy with all the people around and had to lean onto Kasumi a little. It’s been a while since she had been surrounded by so many people, not to mention this close.

Kasumi asked her if she was okay and Arisa assured her she was fine, as long as the girl would stay with her. She only noticed how corny that sounded, when Kasumi showed her an affectionate smile and grabbed her hand.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ever let go!” she tried to calm Arisa down, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The (currently) brunette was stuck in a mental argument, since she felt embarrassed holding hands in public like that—not to mention the reason behind it—but also really didn’t want to get separated from her. In the end, she had to accept her situation and kept holding on to Kasumi’s hand.

“Do you need a drink or something?” Kasumi asked her and pointed at the booth across the room. Arisa wanted to decline, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to get some water.

“Water, if they have some,” she told her friend, who was ready to fulfill Arisa’s request. They went up to the booth and were surprised to be met with a familiar face.

“O-Tae!?” Kasumi called out and Tae greeted the girls, unbothered as ever. “What will it be?” she asked the two.

“Wait, you work here at SPACE?” Kasumi asked further, still in disbelief. Tae nodded and only then the fact seemed to have ingrained itself into Kasumi’s brain.

“Your order?” Tae asked again and Arisa asked if they had any water. Tae turned around with a swift, “Sure do,” and took out a bottle from the refrigerator behind her.

“My treat,” Kasumi said, ready to take the money out of her purse before Arisa stopped her. “With _my_ allowance?” she countered, making Kasumi stop and think for moment.

“Ehehe, sorry. Didn’t think that one through.” Arisa gave Tae the money, who showed no reaction to their exchange, though Arisa hadn’t really been paying much attention to her.

“Enjoy the show,” she said to them, as the two returned to their friends again, and the four decided to enter the concert hall. Most people had already found the best spots and were excitedly waiting for the performance to begin.

Rimi handed her friends the glow sticks she had promised to bring and their anticipation rose with every passing second. Arisa couldn’t remember the last time she had hung out with a group of friends in such a fashion, but was happy to be experiencing the moment.

The lights were dimmed and Arisa became uneasy for a moment, before feeling a squeeze from Kasumi’s hand. She could barely make out the girl’s face, but knew she was smiling at her. Arisa squeezed back and turned her head to the stage again, which was slowly being illuminated again.

A group of girls emerged from backstage and was met with cheers and whistles. The lead singer waved and grabbed the microphone to introduce herself and her other members. After the formalities were out of the way, she announced the first track they would be playing and soon after the music began playing.

The song began with strong vocals and the other instruments joined in one by one. It was a beautiful ballad about a girl questioning the meaning of love and struck Arisa on an emotional level. She did not expect to be hit by emotions this early on. The rest of their songs had a similar sound and thematic, and the crowd clapped and cheered after their performance came to an end.

This procedure repeated itself with the other bands, who all had their own unique sound and style, though a few of the songs were a little forgettable. The usual cheers also began when Glitter*Green set foot on the stage, though Arisa could swear they were just the tiniest bit louder this time.

The band members were wearing matching outfits and set up their instruments, while Yuri greeted the audience and introduced everyone. She threw Rimi a special wink to which the black-haired replied with a cheerful wave and was ready to begin.

Guitars kicked in with the other instruments following closely after and soon enough Yuri’s voice could be heard throughout the room. Arisa felt her heartbeat quicken and couldn’t take her eyes off of the stage. The earlier bands hadn’t been bad, quite the opposite actually, but it seemed Glitter*Green was simply on another level.

The catchy tune filled up Arisa’s body and she swung her glow stick around to the beat. Next to her, Kasumi seemed to have the same thought and the two matched their movements to swing from side to side together.

The performance ended too fast in their opinion or maybe their sense of time was just off by too much, but they felt a slight disappointment when Glitter*Green left the stage again. Only one more band and the concert would be over already. But hadn’t it just begun?

Arisa felt the desire to turn back time and start over. She didn’t want her fun to end; this had been one of the few moments in which she felt truly happy to be alive. She didn’t want to let go of this feeling.

But all good things have to come to an end eventually. There was nothing Arisa could do against that and maybe it was better this way. She would forever treasure this precious memory.

Curious murmurs could be heard as everyone was waiting for the last band of the evening to appear. Arisa turned to Rimi, who might have an idea as to why the audience seemed so agitated, but the girl shook her head to show she didn’t.

Finally, five girls showed up on stage and the crowd went insane. Arisa was a little startled by the sudden amplitude of the enthusiasm and held Kasumi’s hand tighter. Nonetheless, the feedback left her curious and she looked over to the stage to see what the hype was about.

The vocalist grabbed the microphone with overwhelming confidence and her sole aura gave Arisa goosebumps. Her golden eyes were fixed on a point in the distance as she introduced her band.

“We’re Roselia.”

Arisa remembered the chalk board which had that name written at the bottom. She hadn’t paid much attention to it, since she hadn’t known any of the bands beside Glitter*Green and you couldn’t judge a band by its name. However, seeing them onstage she felt like she knew why everyone was so excited for their performance.

Their costumes looked incredibly professional and their presence alone was impressive. If she were to trust the people around her, their music should be of similar quality. But as they started playing Arisa realized how wrong she was.

Their music wasn’t of similar quality, it was far beyond that. She had never felt so mesmerized and astonished. Never could she have imagined a group of high schoolers to produce such a powerful sound reminiscent of something you’d hear at a nation-wide music festival. How could it be that Arisa got the privilege to listen to them at such a comparatively small venue? Now she knew why it was booked out.

Every song they played seemed better than the last and Arisa had a hard time picking a favorite. She’s never been into bands that much, but maybe this would change now.

Her eyes instinctively wandered to the band’s keyboardist. The girl was absorbed in the music and concentrated on her own instrument, while making sure her tune matched everyone else’s. She looked so graceful, moving her fingers across the keyboard, swaying her long black hair around, smiling lightly whenever she successfully finished a sequence.

Arisa tried imagining herself in her place. She couldn’t really see herself being part of that particular band, but that wasn’t really her intent. It was about _being_ in a band, something Arisa had never even thought about. That hadn’t been why she had taken piano lessons as a child, but for some reason she felt like it would all have lead to this outcome either way.

Arisa wanted to be in a band.

She wanted to feel the same thing the girl playing the keyboard on stage felt: joy by making music with your friends. _Friends..._ She rephrased her wish.

Arisa wanted to be in a band with her friends.

Yes, those were her feelings, those were her deepest desires, at least for that moment. Of course she had intended to support Kasumi and her band idea with everything she could, but that had mostly been for Kasumi’s sake. If that girl hadn’t been the one to bring up the idea, Arisa probably wouldn’t have bothered all that much.

But things were different now. The band was something Arisa actively wanted to happen, not just for Kasumi, but also for herself, and she would work even harder to make their dream come true. Maybe one day, they could also have a show at a livehouse, maybe even next to Roselia!

Granted, that was quite the ambitious goal for someone whose band was still practically non-existent, but it couldn’t hurt to have dreams. Besides, Arisa was pretty sure Kasumi’s aspirations were much higher than hers, but knowing the girl, they would be able to do anything.

Before she realized it, Roselia’s performance came to an end and the audience showered them with applause. Against all odds, Arisa found herself shouting and cheering as well, and watched in awe how the five girls disappeared from the stage again.

She didn’t even know what exactly she felt and how to put it all together. Her heart was still pounding from excitement and the hand which was holding Kasumi’s had become uncomfortably sweaty. Hopefully, her friend wouldn’t mind.

Her breath was still heavy, when all the bands appeared for a last time to thank their fans for coming. Soon after, the regular lights came back on and the crowd slowly made its way towards the exit.

The four friends tried their best to stay together and not get separated by the mass of people around them. Kasumi had grabbed Saaya’s hand, who was also holding on to Rimi, so they formed a chain of sorts. Luckily, most people were gone after just a few minutes and the girls relaxed again. They had purposefully fallen behind and were now waiting for the remaining people to exit before them.

“Oh man, that was absolutely amazing!” Kasumi cheered and waved her glow stick around to illustrate her point. The others giggled and also expressed their positive opinions on the concert.

“But Glitter*Green was really good. You could tell they had a lot of experience,” Arisa commented.

“Yes, they had their one year anniversary not too long ago, so I suppose you could say they’ve been in business for a while now,” Rimi explained.

“Your sister was really great. Her voice was mesmerizing!”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to tell her you said that,” Rimi giggled.

Finally, the crowd cleared up and the girls went back to the entrance hall. Most people just left the livehouse, but some people stayed behind to chat or look when the next concerts would be scheduled.

Arisa was curious to see if Roselia would maybe play there another time and looked at the bullet board, while the other three kept chatting and gushing about how good the concert was. Apparently, it had been Kasumi’s first as well. Somehow that thought was comforting.

“I think I finally found it again!” Kasumi exclaimed without much context.

“Found what?” Saaya asked.

“My sparkling, heart-pounding experience!” Arisa turned her head at the expression, which had awakened a few memories and saw Kasumi gesturing to wait there. Without further warning she ran off and the other two girls looked to Arisa for answers, but she couldn’t tell them much.

A few moments later she returned, dragging along Tae, whose face was just as curious as that of the rest. “I want the five of us to start a band,” Kasumi announced.

Arisa relaxed again. So that was what the whole thing was about. So far, Arisa had been the only confirmed member of Kasumi’s band, though she had known the (currently) blonde had been wanting to ask Tae to join as well. Having Rimi and Saaya in their band was actually an idea Arisa fully supported and showed the two an encouraging smile.

After all, they had two guitars and one keyboard already, and Arisa was pretty sure Kasumi also planned on being the vocalist. Remembering the drum sticks Arisa had seen in Saaya’s room, the girl could become the drummer and that would leave Rimi with the bass. She wasn’t sure whether Rimi already played an instrument, but the chances seemed low, so it all aligned almost perfectly.

A little too perfectly. The universe had already shown Arisa so much generosity, it seemed it had run out of it.

Saaya declined the offer without much hesitation or additional thought and Rimi followed her example. Kasumi’s smile quickly faded and she looked to Arisa for help. The (currently) brunette wasn’t too happy with that outcome either, but realized there wasn’t much they could do. However, she knew Kasumi well enough by now to know that this wasn’t the end yet.

“Why?” she asked them, confused and disappointed, yet a little hopeful. Saaya hesitated to answer and gave Arisa a knowing look.

“Sorry, I...just don’t have the time. I help out at our bakery a lot and if I had band rehearsals to add to that, I wouldn’t have any time to rest anymore. I’m sorry, Arisa.”

“But—” Kasumi thought of something to say, since her reason was quite understandable. “I mean, we can have rehearsals, maybe like, once a week or something. It’s kinda just for fun, no pressure!”

“You seem seriously passionate about it though,” Saaya countered, shutting up Kasumi. The girl had no comeback from that. They all knew Saaya was right. So instead, Kasumi turned to Rimi with a pleading expression.

“Rimi-rin~...Please~...” The black-haired clung to the girl next to her and averted her eyes. “Um, I—” But Kasumi’s puppy eyes were inescapable.

In the end, Saaya got between them and asked Kasumi to let go. “You’re making her uncomfortable. She already gave you her answer.”

The (currently) blonde turned away and let Rimi alone. Arisa carefully placed a hand on Rimi’s shoulder, which made the latter look up with an uncertain expression.

“Sorry. I’m sure you have a good reason for declining and we respect that, but,” she glanced over to Kasumi, who was now being comforted by Tae, “if you ever change your mind, we’ll be here.” She squeezed the girl’s shoulder softly and showed a warm smile, which the black-haired seemed to greatly appreciate.

“Thank you, Kasumi-chan.” Saaya also gave her a grateful look. Now that Rimi had calmed down, Arisa turned her attention to Kasumi, who was sulking over her seemingly shattered dream.

“Hey,” she approached her and Kasumi immediately threw herself into Arisa’s arms, burying her head in her chest. “Arisa~,” she cried and Arisa hoped none of the others had paid attention to that.

“It’s okay, _Arisa_ ,” she reminded the girl and stroked her back. “It’s not the end of the world. You really have to learn to respect people’s boundaries.”

“But—”

“No buts.” Arisa remained firm in her stance, but could understand Kasumi’s disappointment. She really had hoped the five of them would start a band together, but maybe it simply wasn’t meant to be.

Tae was still standing next to them, looking somewhat lost. “Does that mean I can go? I’m still at work you know.”

“Uh, yeah,” Arisa replied without thinking. “Wait!” she called out as she remembered something. Tae stopped and turned around.

“Are you joining our band?” Tae blankly stared back as she would always do.

“We’ll talk later. Wait for me.” With these words she went back to work, ignoring Arisa’s calls behind her.

The air was weirdly tense around the four girls now and no one really knew what to do or what to say. They kept standing there in silence for several minutes until one of them asked the question everyone had had written on their face.

“What now?”

Unsurprisingly, no one answered. Nobody wanted to be the one to potentially mess up again by saying something inconsiderable, so they all rather stayed quiet. All they could do was wait for Tae to show up again, since she served as the neutral third party in this situation.

But as time went by the girl wouldn’t come to sight again. The girls became increasingly impatient, especially Arisa, though she tried her best to hide it as well as she could. It got even worse when Saaya let out an audible sigh.

If she really thought about it, her and Rimi didn’t even have much of staying there and waiting with them. Tae’s answer wouldn’t really make any difference to the two anyway, they didn’t even know her that well and were still wondering when Arisa and Kasumi had become friends with her.

Yet, the two felt like Tae had also spoken to them, when she had told them to wait, so they did. Maybe they were a little curious to hear what the girl had to say or maybe they thought it would be rude to just up and leave suddenly. Either way, Saaya and Rimi didn’t move and quietly waited alongside the other two.

After an uncomfortably long time, Tae finally appeared again, turning all eyes on her. “I’m done. Thanks for waiting,” was all she said before she led them outside, since the livehouse was about to close.

The girls stood around her and waited for her to start talking or maybe lead them to another location or just do anything that would give them a faint idea of what would happen next. However, Tae didn’t move a muscle and stared back at them with the same expectant look.

“Um,” Arisa dared to speak up, “are going to tell us your answer? Or anything else?” Tae tilted her head, trying to remember what they had been talking about before she had left to finish work.

“Oh, yeah, the band,” she remembered and the rest was relieved to have taken at least one step towards being done with the conversation and able to go home again.

“I’ll join,” she answered, making Kasumi light up and bounce on her toes. “One condition,” Tae added.

“Anything!” Kasumi replied without thinking, earning a scolding look from Arisa.

“I’ll join when the time is right.” Kasumi stopped in her motion, blinking at the girl with confusion.

“When the time is...right?” she echoed. “What...what is that supposed to mean?” Her voice was full with disappointment again and a frown formed on her face. Knowing Tae, the ‘right time’ could be anywhere between five minutes or five years later.

Kasumi didn’t even bother getting her hopes up this time, but couldn’t stop caring. The band was important to her after all. At least Arisa wouldn’t leave her, right? For some reason she didn’t find herself as sure of that fact as she thought she was.

“I just want to wait until you two have everything sorted out. It’s less messy that way and probably more productive,” Tae answered.

“What are you talking about? Our fight yesterday? We already made up! You were there!” Tae shook her head.

“That’s not what I meant.” Kasumi furrowed her brows in frustration. Why must Tae always be so vague? She had to admit, she did find it cool at first, since it made the girl seem a little mysterious and exciting, but having a serious conversation with her was a real nightmare.

“Then what _did_ you mean?” Arisa almost had to hold Kasumi back from lunging at the tall girl. She had never seen Kasumi like this and was a little overwhelmed. What would she have done if Kasumi had been so upset with her? She was afraid to only imagine that. In a way, she was happy it had been Tae who had inflicted Kasumi’s disgruntlement upon herself.

Tae hesitated to answer Kasumi’s question. Her hand tightly gripped her bag, which she was holding. “I...” She looked down to her feet, trying to find the words. “Sorry, I’m still missing evidence.”

“Evidence…?” Arisa questioned, but received no answer.

“Sorry to keep you so long. You can go home now. Goodnight,” Tae said and pushed past the girls, walking fast to prevent anyone from following. The girls stared after her and Kasumi was about to start running after her, when a hand stopped her.

“Arisa, I think that’s enough,” she heard Saaya say with a strict voice, that she usually reserved for her siblings. Reluctantly, Kasumi leaned back and pouted. She knew the girl was right, but her body was itching to just take off and question Tae further. A look at Saaya’s face revealed that she would most likely not succeed with that plan.

In the end, Kasumi had to let go. It was hard, but she had no other choice, it was the right thing to do, everyone else had agreed on that without her. Even Arisa, who was on her side thought it was the best course of action.

Did they have any idea how difficult it was to turn off your emotions like that and stop caring? Most likely, yes, but Kasumi felt like being a little selfish today and let her feelings clash around her body. Maybe they would vanish soon, she hoped they would, so she wouldn’t have to deal with them, but she knew herself. She’d wake up the next day, feelings unchanged. A sigh escaped her lips.

“We’ll get going then. Goodnight,” Saaya said and Arisa replied with a faint, “Goodnight,” as well. Kasumi said nothing and leaned against the girl next to her.

“How could this happen? Where did it all go wrong? It was all so perfect, the guitar, the concert, our friends…” Tears started forming on her eyes. “I don’t understand,” she whispered under her breath as Arisa took her in her arms.

“Sometimes bad things happen after everything went too well for too long,” the (currently) brunette commented, but knew it probably wouldn’t make Kasumi feel much better.

“Let’s just go home, okay? I’ll ask your parents if I can stay over.” Without waiting for an answer, Arisa pulled out her phone and started typing. Kasumi gripped her tighter.

“Thank you. For everything. You’re the only one I have. You wouldn’t leave me.” She looked up to meet Arisa’s gaze. “Right?”

The girl stared back at her, looking almost offended that such a thought even crossed Kasumi’s mind. “Of course not!” she responded and returned the embrace. “I’m here for you and that’s where I’ll always stay! Got it?”

Kasumi sniffled and nodded. She felt ashamed of ever questioning Arisa’s loyalty and hoped that her friend wouldn’t take it personally.

Slowly, they started moving in the direction of home, both emotionally exhausted. All they wanted to do now was to take a hot shower and get into bed.


	8. When we found and told the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> almost forgot to uplaod lmao  
> college classes started again, meaning I won't have as much freetime anymore, though right now I am writing the (hopefully) last chapter  
> I really want to finish it in october since I'm planning to do huevember and will spend my freetime on drawing instead of writing  
> that being said, I don't know when I'm going to post another fic but I'm guessing maybe around january/february since that's exam time and I always get especially creative and motivated to write around that time lmao  
> as already implied, I don't really like the chapters to come, like the plot itself is alright, I had that planned out, but the way I conveyed it all just seems very boring and weirdly stiff idk, you be the judge of course

The following week was anything than ideal, but it probably also could’ve been worse.

Saaya and Rimi isolated themselves for the first couple days after the night of the concert and Kasumi had to apologize to the two for all of them to do things together again. Still, they all refused to talk about the band and were almost afraid of even bringing it up.

Kasumi sighed as she flopped onto Arisa’s bed. It was already Friday. The days had gone by so fast and she wanted to say it was because nothing really happened, but that fact wasn’t true. Actually, things did happen.

She had been practicing the guitar under Tae’s guidance. Arisa had looked it up online and discovered that it apparently was named ‘Random Star’. Quite the fitting name. On top of that, the model wasn’t that old and the price for a new one was higher than anything either of them could afford.

Rather, Arisa couldn’t because she had spend her allowance on her new keyboard. Kasumi still haven’t given her an answer to the question of the type of music they were going to make, so she simply guessed and bought one that simply _felt_ right.

However, shortly after all that, the two came across a new problem: they had no songs to play. Kasumi had suggested they write some, but as she had started trying she had almost instantly given up. So, that task has been forwarded to Arisa.

“I think I’m getting better though!” Kasumi said and grinned at Arisa.

“Well, duh. If you keep practicing, you’re going to improve.”

“Yeah, but I can already play ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’! Last time I managed to play it without messing up even once! That’s just so amazing!” Arisa had to smile at her friend’s excitement. Kasumi was so cute when she got all pumped and happy about something. That smile of hers was just so contagious.

“Do you know which string makes which sound? And where to grip with your fingers?” Arisa asked.

“I feel like I should, but I still get them mixed up sometimes. O-Tae even explained chords to me already, so if I keep practicing I’ll be a pro soon!” Kasumi giggled. If only it were that easy, but Arisa let Kasumi believe for now.

“Yeah, yeah, definitely,” she answered sarcastically and leaned back in her chair.

“What about you? You said you were a little rusty,” Kasumi asked in return, making the other girl bite her lip.

“Well, yeah...about that…” Arisa ran a hand across the side of her face. “Like, theoretically I know how to play, where the notes on the keys are, the common chords and tone ladders, but…” She looked at her hand. “My muscle memory is missing. I have to actively focus to hit the right keys and all that. I was thinking, maybe you—”

She cut herself off and stared at the other girl, who had no idea what Arisa was implying and had a puzzled look on her face. “So, uh, that means…?”

“It means,” Arisa started explaining, a little annoyed, “I can play, but not as good as if I were still in my own body. So, everything you learn at the moment, you learn with my body. It’s highly likely you will have to learn everything again, after you get yours back.”

Kasumi sat up and stared back in shock and confusion. “Ehhh??? For real???”

When Arisa nodded, she pouted and let herself fall back onto the bed again. “Aww man~.”

A moment of silence passed by, before Kasumi got up again, her face showing that she had an idea. Instinctively, Arisa got her guard up.

“Does that mean I can play the piano right now? Since I’m in your body and all.”

“Possibly. If you let your hands...do their thing, it’ll probably work. To an extent.” Kasumi clapped her hands and ran over to the brand new keyboard standing in Arisa’s room.

She couldn’t have possibly brought it to Kasumi’s house, so for now Arisa only had the chance to practice anything in her own home. Still, she didn’t want the keyboard to stay in her room and was thinking of finding a room to make into a band room of sorts.

Kasumi hovered her fingers over the keys and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to follow Arisa’s advice. _Let the hands do their thing…_

Slowly, she lowered her hand until she felt the keys at her fingertips and sucked in another breath. She let her instincts take over and after a few seconds of hesitation finally pressed a key.

Nothing.

Kasumi pressed the key again, but the sound still wouldn’t come out. She opened her eyes and pressed the key one more time, to see if she had pressed it correctly and pouted when she still heard nothing.

“How about turning it on first?” she heard Arisa smugly suggest behind her.

“Where do I do that?” she asked, looking between all the small buttons and sliders.

“Top left.”

“Ah!” Kasumi pushed the little slider to ‘ON’ and carefully tried pressing a key again. She marveled at the sound it made and turned to Arisa with a huge grin.

“Okay, here we go. For real this time.” She closed her eyes again and tried letting her hands take over. It took a while for her to start playing, but when she did, it all suddenly went so fast.

She didn’t even fully register the sequence of notes she had played and simply sat there, feeling somewhat dazed. As she turned to Arisa, it became apparent that the melody didn’t really cater to Arisa’s tastes.

“Seems like muscle memory alone doesn’t cut it.”

“Wait, let me try again!” Kasumi requested and Arisa gestured that she wouldn’t stop her from trying. The (currently) blonde turned to the keyboard again and tried doing the same thing, focusing a little more on her hands now.

The sound she made was still a little questionable, but better than the last. She tried it again and another time after that. It still wasn’t perfect, but was it something a person with zero experience could produce? With a lot of luck, maybe. Kasumi wanted to continue, but feared she might annoy Arisa with it, so she stopped and threw herself onto the bed again.

“Giving up already?” Arisa asked her with the usual amount of indifference in her voice. Kasumi only let out a hum and stared at the ceiling.

“Maybe O-Tae was right,” she thought out loud. Arisa raised her eyebrows.

“With what?”

“Joining the band at the right time, after we sorted everything out. Like you just said, practicing our instruments now won’t bring us much in the long run. Plus, you can only practice when you’re here and we don’t even have any songs yet! We’re a mess! No wonder, none of them wanted to join.” She rolled herself to the side and let out a sigh.

What Kasumi said was indeed true, but there was something that seemed off to Arisa. “O-Tae doesn’t know about the switch though...unless…”

The two girls stared at each other, eyes wide and mouth open. Almost on cue, a knock could be heard at the door. Arisa’s grandma opened the door, but she wasn’t alone.

“You have a guest.”

_Speak of the devil._

Tae appeared in the doorway and peeked inside the room. “What’s poppin’?”

“O-Tae?!” Kasumi couldn’t hide her surprise and even Arisa had trouble hiding her emotions. Was this another one of the universe’s pranks?

The tall girl came into the room and Arisa’s grandma left the three alone, swiftly closing the door after her. All three stared at each other, before Arisa gave Kasumi a light kick, which seemed to make the girl snap out of her trance.

“Ah, um, welcome to my room! Please make yourself at home,” she said with a forced smile, which Tae didn’t seem to pay any attention to. She looked around the room and her eyes didn’t seem to fixate on any point for longer than two milliseconds.

“Cute,” was all she had to say, before she turned to the two girls and stared right through their soul—or at least that was what it felt like. Kasumi offered her a place to sit, but instead the girl sat down on the floor. Kasumi and Arisa exchanged glances, but said nothing about it.

“What brings us the honor of you visiting?” Arisa asked, trying to sound unbothered, but it was clear that she was. Tae only shrugged.

“Felt like it.” The (currently) brunette wanted to say more, but decided against it. Knowing Tae she wouldn’t get any reasonable answers anyway.

“But it’s good that you’re both here,” Tae continued. “I wanted to have a talk under six eyes.”

“Well,” Arisa gestured to her and Kasumi, “Here we are. What are you waiting for?”

“Right.” Tae paused, thinking how she should begin. “So, I guess I’m here to apologize? I kinda...left you there last Saturday without really explaining. Sorry about that.”

The two expected her to continue talking, but it seemed this was the entirety of her apology. Arisa wasn’t satisfied and even Kasumi had a sceptical look on her face.

“So...are you going to explain or…?”

“Explain what?” Was this girl serious? Arisa had to physically stop herself from strangling her.

“Explain why you left so suddenly. And what you meant by ‘evidence’,” she answered, making Tae’s eyebrows go up.

“Oh, you remember that? I hoped you had forgotten by now.” This was getting suspicious. Who was she? What was her mission?

“Doesn’t matter,” Tae said and cut off Arisa before she could protest. “I’ve been talking to your friends, Saaya and Rimi. They’re nice. I can see why you want to have them in your band.” Kasumi gave her a warm smile and Arisa dropped her objections.

“I tried asking them about it again, but they said they didn’t want to talk about it with me. I think they’re waiting for you to bring it up again.”

“And you came to tell us that?” Arisa asked, crossing her arms. Tae nodded.

“I think the two actually want to be in the band, but there’s something holding them back. Maybe you can help them overcome it or something.” She looked at them with hope in her eyes. “That’s my theory, at least,” she added.

Arisa took a breath and turned to Kasumi. Tae had no apparent reason for lying, but Arisa didn’t really trust her after all the ominous things she had said and done. Also, since it was just her theory, there was no guarantee she was actually right and by pushing the band idea further they could make things even worse with Saaya and Rimi. Should they be risking that?

Kasumi’s answer was written in her face as she looked back at her friend. “We could try it.”

“I don’t know,” Arisa replied. “What if O-Tae’s wrong and we end up ruining our friendship? Would it be worth it?” Kasumi’s hope slowly faded, but didn’t fully disappear. She bit her lip.

“I...I don’t want to drag them into something they don’t want, but...if a push is all they need to make their wish come true...then I’d be happy to do it.” Arisa couldn’t fault her for feeling that. She put her hand on Kasumi’s back, to which the latter replied with a light smile.

“It’s your choice in the end,” Tae inquired, making the others turn to her again.

“Yeah, I think we’ll need some more time to think,” Arisa responded. Tae nodded in agreement and the conversation died down.

“Um...was that it?” Arisa asked. “I don’t want to be rude, but...if that’s all you came here to say…” Tae stared back at her and her expression turned into a knowing smirk.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t know you two lovebirds were _that_ busy. I guess I shouldn’t disturb you further.” Arisa’s face turned red from hearing the word ‘lovebirds’ and she immediately tried to deny it, but out came only nervous stuttering and gasps for air. In desperation, she turned to her friend, who only had a small blush on her face and dreamily stared at the ground.

“Kasumi, say something!” she begged her, but Kasumi only gave her a confused look that told her friend she wouldn’t be of any help. After waiting for a response, Arisa gave up and pouted, glaring at Tae who had awakened this mess of feelings inside her.

“Come on, Arisa, don’t be like that! It was...probably just a joke. Right, O-Tae?” Tae blinked at her and nodded. “See?”

It didn’t make Arisa’s feelings fade away, but she was able to calm down a little. She didn’t turn to Kasumi, so she couldn’t catch a glance at her conflicted face. Did Arisa get offended by the word ‘lovebirds’? Was she that opposed to the idea of the two of them dating? Kasumi didn’t know, but she hoped she had misunderstood.

Meanwhile, Tae seemed to be oddly alert. She watched the two girls with an intense stare and almost didn’t even allow herself to blink. It made the two get very concerned.

“O-Tae? Is something the matter?” Kasumi asked, giving her an innocent look. The girl didn’t answer.

“O-Tae, you’re being creepy! What’s wrong?” Arisa chimed in, hoping to provoke her into giving at least some sort of answer. It seemed her plan had worked.

“Sorry, Arisa. That wasn’t my intention,” she finally said, making Arisa release a breath and shake her head. “I really don’t get you.” Tae only smiled.

“Yeah, but I think I get you now,” she said ominously.

“Eh?”

“Since I have enough evidence now, it’s time to explain.”

“Explain what?” Arisa asked and Tae gave her a displeased look.

“Have you already forgotten? Why I left, of course.”

“Wait, _now_ you’re going to explain it? But why? It doesn’t even make se—” Tae cut her off before she could continue complaining.

“You just gave me all the evidence I need, _Arisa_.”

The (currently) brunette wanted to complain again, when Tae’s words fully sank in and she realized her mistake. They had been calling each other by their real names, but Tae wasn’t supposed to hear that.

“How could I be so dumb and careless?” she scolded herself, while Kasumi still looked lost.

“Wait, what are we talking about? I couldn’t really follow.”

“She knows, Kasumi. It’s over.” Kasumi needed a second to connect the dots, but when she did she let out a big gasp and covered her mouth in shock.

“No way!” She turned to Tae. “O-Tae, you know we switched bodies? How did you find out?” Tae silently nodded.

“As I said, I have been talking to your friends and they told me all about your strange behavior. And just now, you called each other by your reversed names, which are actually your real names, I guess,” Tae explained.

“But, aside from that, I have already encountered this phenomenon and I know the cause. By now, it’s just a matter of finding the signs and patterns.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You know the cause?!” Arisa was baffled and couldn’t get her mouth to close. Could Tae help them get their bodies back? She almost regretted ever doubting the girl.

“Yeah. It’s Oddie,” Tae answered without missing a beat.

_Oddie? I know I’ve heard that somewhere before…_

“The forum!” Arisa blurted out and Tae seemed to have made a connection in her head.

“Oh, so that was you Arisa? A.I.—Arisa Ichigaya. It fits. Not very creative though.”

“Sh—Shut up!!!” Arisa crossed her arms and tried not to glare at her. She could be the key to reversing their situation, she didn’t want to push her luck with the girl. Tae didn’t seem to mind Arisa’s attitude.

“What is ‘Oddie’?” Kasumi asked, trying to keep up with the conversation. Tae shook her head.

“Not ‘what’, but ‘who’. Oddie is my boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend???” Kasumi asked in surprise and wonder. She didn’t expect her to have one, but couldn’t say she wasn’t actually surprised. Tae was an amazing girl, anyone could see that, so it only made sense for her to be in a relationship.

“Yeah, you two must’ve seen him before you switched. He’s the one who does that,” Tae stated.

“What does he look like?” Arisa asked, trying to remember the people she had seen on the day before the switch.

“Handsome,” was all Tae answered, which wasn’t helpful at all. She noticed that by the annoyed looks she got from the girls and pulled out her phone to show them some pictures instead.

“Are you sure you got the right picture?” Arisa asked her, when Tae handed them her phone.

“Yeah, why?” Arisa pressed her lips together.

“It’s a picture of a rabbit.” Tae blinked at her and Arisa blinked back.

“Yeah, that’s my boyfriend.” Arisa let out a sigh. She should have known it would turn out to be something ridiculous like that again. It didn’t help dwelling on it, so she tried remembering if she had seen a rabbit that looked like the picture.

Surprisingly enough, she did. That day, she had been on her balcony in the evening and had seen something rattling in the bushes. A few moments later a rabbit had come out. It had stared at her with its dark eyes, before it had run away again.

Arisa hadn’t thought much of it, but knowing this encounter had been crucial, made her see the memory in a new light. She turned to Kasumi to see if her friend could also remember something of the sort. She did.

Kasumi had seen the rabbit in the early morning in the neighbor’s backyard. She remembered she had had trouble sleeping, so she had chosen to fully wake up and start the day and that had been when she had spotted the little creature.

“Whoa,” was all Kasumi could say upon making this discovery. Arisa shared her feeling.

“I mean, that’s crazy and all, but how do we undo it?” the (currently) blonde asked.

“You give each other what you want,” Tae answered, but the others only furrowed their brows at the answer.

“What?” Kasumi asked, a bit relieved to see that Arisa had trouble understanding, too.

“Oh yeah, I should have mentioned, the switch has a condition. Oddie only chooses certain people. Basically, the ones who switch have something that the other wants and by switching their bodies they’re able to get it. Like an exchange, of sorts.”

Kasumi and Arisa stared at each other, their thoughts running wild. Something they want that the other has. What could that be?

“So, if we figure out what we want and give it to each other, we’ll switch back?” Arisa confirmed and Tae nodded in response. “Easy right?” Arisa wasn’t too sure about that.

Kasumi was still deep in thought; Arisa had never seen her this serious before. It made sense, they had been given the solution to their problem, how could they not take it immediately? Somehow this seemed too easy.

“Why are you telling us this?” she wondered and Tae blinked at her.

“Why would I not?” Trying to come up with an answer, Arisa realized how stupid her question and just her overall way of thinking was.

“I just...We’ve been trying for three weeks and now this gets handed to us on a silver platter? I don’t know, it seems too convenient.”

“Well,” Tae put her finger to her chin, “I’m sure you struggled at least a tiny bit, so you could see this as pay-off. Besides, the thing you two want might not be that easy to give. It’s not over yet.” Tae had a point. Arisa quietly looked away and started thinking again.

“Also,” she added, “I feel a little responsible since it was caused by my boyfriend after all and he doesn’t really do much to fix his switches.” Reasonable, especially for Tae’s standards.

"Okay, sorry for asking such a dumb question." Tae shook her head.

"It's not dumb." Arisa gave her an awkward smile.

"I guess now is the time to leave. You have some stuff to figure out, I don't want to be in your way," Tae stated and none of the two could find any arguments against that.

They led Tae to the door where they said their goodbyes. "See you on Monday," the tall girl said with a wave and went on her way. Arisa and Kasumi waved after her and went upstairs again.

"That's…so crazy," Kasumi said when they both sat down on the bed again. Arisa hummed in agreement.

"Who knew that O-Tae would be the one to give us a solution in the end?" It seemed unreal. Arisa pinched her arm in fear of it all being a dream. To her relief, it wasn't and she released a breath.

"So," Kasumi began talking again and turned to her friend, "what do you want from me?"

"Huh?" Arisa stared back at her, disgruntled. "How am I supposed to know? At least give me some time to think!" The other girl chuckled slightly and stared back with dreamy eyes.

"I think I know what I wanted," she whispered, tilting her head. Arisa gulped and tried to suppress a blush.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, but her friend only giggled.

"I asked first!" The (currently) brunette swallowed a groan and instead turned to the side, trying to look uninterested.

“Knowing you, it’s probably something dumb anyway.”

“Hey!” Kasumi protested and pouted. “That’s mean! You’re such a meanie, Arisa!”

“Oh yeah? Then what is your wish?” Arisa asked provocatively and the other girl almost talked before catching herself.

“That’s a secret! But it’s definitely not dumb!” Kasumi declared with a self-assured nod and Arisa gave up trying to get the answer out of her.

Instead, she turned away and tried to focus on herself. What did she want from Kasumi? Her looks? Her confidence? Her cheerfulness?

Her love?

Arisa flushed and pressed a hand against her mouth. No that couldn’t be it, she hadn’t even known Kasumi before the switch. But maybe it was someone _like_ Kasumi she had been longing for.

She had to take a step back. Why did that thought even cross her mind? Did she want to be loved by that girl? Everyone wants to be loved by the people around them, it’s only natural. But _that kind_ of love? Was that what she was craving?

And more importantly, was that something Kasumi could give her?

If this was true, Arisa wouldn’t mind it. Kasumi staying at her side and giving her constant affection...it wasn’t something she found herself to feel opposed to. She glanced over to the girl in question, who had started to hum to herself.

The question shifted from ‘could Kasumi’ to ‘ _would_ Kasumi’?

According to Tae, Arisa wouldn’t have switched bodies with Kasumi if the latter wouldn’t have been able to fulfill the former’s desires. So, she had to ask herself if Kasumi would be willing to give Arisa the affection she craved.

There was also the chance that Arisa had interpreted her wishes incorrectly, but her gut told her that she probably wasn’t too far off. She had to think of their conversation from last saturday, before they had found Random Star.

_“Yeah. I’d marry you.”_

Those were Kasumi’s words. Arisa had put them off for a later moment and it seemed this moment was now.

This had to mean that Kasumi felt something for her, right? Would you marry your friend that you met just three weeks ago? Maybe, Arisa had no idea. Her friendships have rarely been that deep.

But what about Kasumi? Would she say that about any friend of hers or was Arisa special? The question was burning inside her chest and she really wanted to ask the girl herself, but her insecurity held her back. Wouldn’t that be equal to a confession? Arisa wasn’t ready for that.

However, this raised another question. If the two were to become a couple, would they switch back into their own bodies? That would be too good to be true. Yet, Arisa couldn’t stop herself from hoping it was.

She let out a sigh and buried her head in her knees. “Did you find your answer?” Kasumi asked next to her. Arisa had almost forgotten the girl was still there.

She looked up, lowered her gaze again and scratched her head. “Maybe.”

“Take your time,” Kasumi said softly and Arisa could feel that she meant it. However, she absolutely didn’t want to make the girl wait. The faster they undo the switch, the better.

Arisa made up her mind. It seemed what she had to do was build up the courage to talk to Kasumi about her true feelings and maybe even confess. She would have done it right now, but she was too much of a coward. She set herself a deadline of one week, since she really didn’t want to keep Kasumi from her family for more than a month.

The (currently) brunette leaned against the bed frame and closed her eyes. Kasumi’s humming echoed inside her ears and put a light smile on her lips. For some reason, she found herself exhausted and in need of rest.

“Arisa?” Kasumi called out, but when she turned around the girl was already asleep. She smiled at her and got closer to plant a kiss on her forehead, gently stroking her hair.

While Arisa had been thinking about her things, Kasumi had also had time to sort out her emotions. She really thought she had made her feelings clear to her friend, yet the latter kept acting strange and sometimes even rejectful. She'd be lying if she said it didn't bother her.

But at the same time she wondered if she had been too obvious. Maybe she had misunderstood and Arisa didn't actually like her as much as Kasumi thought she did. Maybe her behavior was completely intentional.

Holding back had always been one of Kasumi's weaknesses. Whenever she saw Arisa she got that uncontrollable feeling inside her, begging to be left out into the world to be picked up by the girl that had stolen her heart.

Kasumi wasn't smart, but even she knew Arisa was more than just a friend to her. The only thing she needed to know was if her friend felt the same way.

However, seeing the state Arisa was in, it was too early for a confession. She could scare her away or upset her easily. No, that wasn't an option.

The (currently) blonde grabbed her own phone and texted her parents in case a situation like their first accidental sleepover was about to happen again. After putting the phone away again, she laid down next to her friend and took a nap as well.

This time, it really had been just a nap. Both girls woke up around 8PM again, meaning they had only slept for a couple of hours.

Arisa was still a little groggy, but the nap also seemed to have been just was she had needed. Kasumi was in high spirits as usual.

"So," Arisa began when she started waking up fully, "what now?"

"Do you…want to go home now?" the other girl asked, hoping she would refuse.

"I suppose," Arisa answered, making Kasumi slump down. "But not yet. We can still like…talk or something, if you want."

"Yes! I'd like to!" Kasumi beamed and clapped her hands.

"Good, you see," the (currently) brunette continued, "I still have so many questions regarding O-Tae and her…rabbit." She considered calling him her 'boyfriend' for a second, but decided she simply couldn't.

"Why didn't you ask her?" Kasumi wondered.

"That's the thing. I was distracted, it was so much to take in and I only remembered all of my questions afterwards. I'll have to ask her on Monday."

"You could text her," Kasumi suggested, but Arisa quickly turned the idea down.

"I don't want to annoy her. There's so much I want to ask and texting really isn't the best way to communicate with such a topic at hand."

"Then just call her." But Arisa kept making excuses.

"I can't just call her. What if she has no time or I'm wasting hers? Also, knowing her we'd have to have a long conversation to make me satisfied and I'm not sure if she is ready for that." She suddenly gasped.

"What if she just hangs up on me?" Kasumi put a hand on her shoulder.

"O-Tae wouldn't do that."

"Are you sure?" Because Arisa wasn't. Her friend nodded confidently. "100%."

Arisa considered her suggestion for a few minutes, but ultimately decided she wanted to wait until she got to see the guitarist in person.

"But there was something else she said." Kasumi gave her a puzzled look.

"She told us to talk to Saaya and Rimi again. Do you think we should do it?" Arisa knew Kasumi's answer, but hearing it might help her building up the courage to go through with it.

"Yeah, we should," she heard Kasumi say and tried to convince herself that this was the right thing to do. Everything would be fine, she just had to believe, like always.

"But what do we tell them?"

"The truth," Kasumi said without missing a beat. Arisa stared back into her determined eyes.

"Do you think this is a good idea?"

"What has lying brought us?" she asked in return. "O-Tae found out the truth and we're closer to a solution than we have ever been. Your grandma knows and is supportive about it." Arisa lowered her gaze. She knew her friend was right.

"Besides," Kasumi continued, "if they aren't supportive, what could happen? They tell the whole school? I don't think many people will believe them."

"You're absolutely right, Kasumi," Arisa answered before the other girl could say anything more. Her guilt was already eating her up and she had to stop it somehow. Telling Rimi and Saaya the truth might be the first step to recovery.

"We should tell them everything. They deserve to know." Kasumi smiled at her and initiated a hug, which Arisa had been still too sleepy to avoid. She'd let that one slide.

"Should we get all that done on Monday?" Kasumi asked.

"Sounds good." It would be a busy day, but at least it would solve a few of their problems. Arisa looked at the clock.

"I suppose, I should get going." Kasumi's hug became tighter as she protested. "Already?"

"Yes, unlike you, I'd still like to finish my homework today."

"But isn't it due on Monday? You have two whole days!" Arisa shook her head. Of course, Kasumi wouldn't get it.

"That's not how I like to do things," she replied and Kasumi finally let go, although very reluctantly.

"Can we at least meet on the weekend?" she voiced a last request, which Arisa didn't have the heart to refuse. "Of course."

Like a puppy, she lit up and embraced Arisa for a last time. "I'll see you then."

Arisa only nodded. They separated and Arisa headed downstairs to go home.

* * *

The moment of truth. Quite literally.

The always busy lunch break had begun and five girls gathered in the courtyard to eat their lunch together and discuss important topics.

Arisa took a deep breath and decided to eat her lunch as fast as she could in fear of losing her appetite after the worst case might hit them. Kasumi followed her example.

They had met on Sunday to talk about how they would approach the topic and to encourage each other that things would turn out okay like they did before. It had been Arisa who had needed the most reassuring, but even Kasumi had shown signs of nervousness.

Was it just Arisa’s perception or did the worst things happen on Mondays? She knew it wasn’t true, but somehow the statement sounded like it was.

Having finished her lunch, she put the bento box next to her and waited for Kasumi to finish as well. Then, both girls turned to look at the other three, who all took a moment to even realize they were being stared at.

“Is something the matter?” Saaya asked with a concerned expression. Even Tae, who should know what would come next, had a curious look on her face. Kasumi and Arisa exchanged glances before they started speaking.

“There’s something we wanted to talk about with you all,” Arisa began and gestured at all three girls, who turned to look at each other. “Something rather important.”

She turned to Saaya and Rimi and pressed her lips together. She swallowed out of hesitation, but managed to muster up the courage to speak again, forming her hands into fists.

“Saaya, Rimi, I—No, _we_ want to apologize to you. We’ve been lying all this time, though you might know already. Our behavior has been very unusual and suspicious and we’re sorry that we’ve felt the need to keep secrets from you, even though you’re our friends.”

Arisa took another deep breath and looked over to Kasumi who nodded at her. With that out of the way it was time to clear things up.

“I’m not sure if you’ll believe us and, honestly, I won’t blame you if you don’t, but…” She looked into their expectant eyes. “What you’re about to hear is the truth. I’m not sure if it helps anything, but O-Tae here can confirm it, too.” Tae’s face was blank as always, but Arisa could swear she saw a spark of encouragement in the girl’s eyes.

This was it, the big reveal. It would decide over the life or death of their friendship and Arisa sincerely hoped for the former. She felt Kasumi take her hand and give it a squeeze. She could do it.

“Kasumi and I have switched bodies. I am actually Arisa and this,” Arisa glanced over to her friend, “is Kasumi. The whole amnesia story was faked because I used it as an excuse to act differently than Kasumi would, because at the time I didn’t know better. We tried our best to keep it a secret, but realized this was the wrong approach. Again, we’re sorry for lying to you.”

She almost didn't want to look at them, didn't want to see their reaction, didn't want to be faced with the consequences of her actions, but she kept her gaze firmly on the two girls' faces, watching intently. The sound of her beating heart drowned out the background noise and almost drove her insane.

"You probably have a lot of questions," she added after none of them said anything for too long. "Please ask as many as you need to."

Saaya and Rimi remained silent, but soon enough one of them spoke up and it was Rimi nonetheless.

"You...really switched bodies?" she confirmed and Arisa nodded. The girl's uncertainty didn't seem to go away, but Arisa didn't fault her for it. If she had been in her shoes she probably wouldn't have believed the story too.

"I mean…it really would explain some things," Saaya noted, "but it's still hard to believe."

"That's perfectly fine," Arisa reassured them, though she did hope for them to accept the fact in the end.

"And it happened three weeks ago? When you both didn't come to school?" Arisa nodded again.

"I also lied to Kasumi's family. I panicked and pretended to have amnesia so none of them would ask any questions. In hindsight, this was probably a mistake. Naturally, I carried on with the lie and went on to tell it to you. I'm sorry."

Saaya stared at the ground and breathed out through her nose. Her look was serious and she clenched her jaw.

"What about Kasumi?" she finally asked and looked at the (currently) blonde. "What's your side of the story?"

"My side…" Kasumi wasn’t prepared to speak so suddenly and had to find the words first.

"Well, I woke up in Arisa’s room and at first I thought I had been kidnapped and I screamed and then Arisa’s grandma came in and I thought, 'Is this my kidnapper? She looks too old and nice to do that,' and she started calling me by Arisa’s name and I thought that was weird and then I saw myself in the mirror and then we both kinda figured out what was going on." She took a little break to catch her breath before continuing her ramble.

"Anyway, I kinda forgot I had to go to school and at first I didn't even know if we went to the same school, but Arisa’s grandma said we did, but Arisa never went to school anyway, so I thought I should go and then I did the next day and there I met Arisa and the rest…well, you probably know."

Only now Arisa noticed she hadn't heard that side of the story yet, but somehow it sounded so much like Kasumi, she probably could've thought that up on her own.

Saaya nodded slowly and took some more time to process the information. However, it seemed she had begun seeing the body swap as true, as her next question asked for the details behind it.

"But how did it even happen? I know, you just told me you woke up in each other's body, but…there's got to be more to that."

"About that," Arisa began. "You better ask O-Tae. She's the expert here. Besides, we also still have some more questions for you," she said turning to the fifth girl in the circle.

Rimi and Saaya raised their eyebrows and shot curious looks at Tae, who only blinked at the attention she got.

"Uh…" After an awkward moment of silence, Tae told the two what she had told the other two already. "As for how exactly he does it…I can't tell you. I'm sorry, no clue."

"Okay, thanks O-Tae," Arisa replied, but Saaya and Rimi needed a moment to catch up mentally.

"So, your rabbit is making people switch bodies? And you have to go after him and fix it?" Saaya asked somewhat sceptically.

"Not always. Sometimes they swap back rather quickly. Like that one time, a boy wanted ice cream and a girl had some, but it was a flavor she didn't like, so Oddie made them switch. The boy ate the ice cream and the girl didn't have to anymore and afterwards they just switched back."

The rest furrowed their brows at the example. It seemed so unnecessarily complicated, since the girl simply could've given the boy the ice cream.

"But wasn't it confusing for them? Did they not freak out over it?" Saaya asked.

"Well, they were both like seven or something, so I think they just thought it was some sort of dream. Maybe that wasn't the best example. People's wishes aren't always that simple," Tae explained.

Arisa had to think about her wish. Fundamentally, it was relatively simple, but the emotions surrounding it were quite complex. Even now, even though she should be sure of the fact that Kasumi could and probably would give her what she wanted, she kept finding herself unsure of that being a fact.

"Why does your rabbit have magic powers in the first place?" Arisa blurted out. Tae only shrugged.

"He's been blessed by the gods. Or he's just that awesome. Maybe it's because he's my boyfriend. Pick your favorite." Arisa responded with an annoyed glare and wanted to ignore her, but unfortunately she still had more questions.

"Did he always have these powers? How did you notice?"

"Hmm…not sure. I noticed around two years ago. I had him longer than that though. Maybe he was born with it."

Arisa sighed. "Guess we'll just have to accept it as a fact."

The group fell silent again, until Saaya finally seemed to had everything sorted out, enough to ask questions at least.

"So did you two already figure out your wishes?" she asked Kasumi and Arisa. Kasumi looked at Arisa and waited for her answer, since she didn't want to answer for both of them.

"Almost," Arisa replied, trying not to blush. Technically she knew, but she still needed time to confront Kasumi about it. Saaya hummed in response.

"So, that means, it's fine if you don't want to join the band. It wouldn't work like this anyway, so…" Arisa saw the two flinch hearing the word 'band', but it was something they had to talk about, whether they wanted or not.

"That's not really the issue," Saaya replied, averting her gaze. "We didn't know after all and all it does is give us even less reason to join."

Kasumi's hand tightly squeezed Arisa’s and she stroked it with her thumb. It must be hard for Kasumi to hear those words.

"Then...what is the issue? I'm sorry to ask, but you can't expect us to understand without explaining." It sounded pushy and insensitive, but it was necessary; that's what Arisa kept telling herself.

Saaya bit her lip and glanced over to Rimi, who had been quietly listening the entire time. She looked back and slowly nodded.

"As for me," the black-haired began, "I don't have the confidence. I can't play any instrument, I only messed around with our old bass a few times. I…I'm better off watching from the audience and cheering you on. I doubt I could even bring out one tone on stage."

Arisa almost regretted ever asking. It was a perfectly valid reason, one she could understand fully and didn't judge her for in the slightest. She looked over to Kasumi, who didn't seem to share that opinion.

"So what? I can't play the guitar either! Since your sister is in a band you've been surrounded by music for a while now, but I literally have just begun. If you're afraid of making a fool of yourself, at least you won't be the only one and I can assure you, I'm going to be worse. If anything, people will be laughing at me, not you." She leaned forward, visibly agitated.

"I don't even know why I'm talking about people laughing at us, because that's not going to happen! I won't let it! We'll practice hard until we're at least half as good as O-Tae and nobody will laugh! Even if it will take us years, I believe we can do it! Maybe even just for fun! So really, there is no reason to be worried!"

Rimi stared back, a hint of doubt still visible in her eyes, but Kasumi's speech did seem to have had an effect on her. Arisa decided to push further. If not now, then when?

"Do you remember the concert? Specifically Roselia's performance?" Rimi hesitantly nodded, not sure where the other girl was going with the question.

"The keyboardist, I looked her up. Her name is Rinko Shirokane and she goes to school with us here at Hanasakigawa. She's a second year. I thought I would approach her and talk about how great their performance was. Do you know what happened?" Rimi curiously shook her head.

"It turns out she is actually extremely shy and nervous around people. She barely managed to form a coherent sentence when I complimented her piano skills and how cool she looked on stage. She said it was only my perception and she wasn't as cool as I thought she was. If someone like that can be on stage, then you can do too!"

It took a moment for Rimi to respond. She stared at her lap, her expression rapidly changing along with her thoughts. In the end, she started crying. Arisa thought she had pushed too far and apologized immediately, but Rimi shook her head.

"No, I—You're right. The truth is I really wanted to be in a band ever since Onee-chan joined Glitter*Green. However, my insecurities have held me back all this time, so I refused your offer. I'm sorry. I really want to be part of your band!"

Kasumi let out a relieved breath and started crying too. "If it's not too late, can I still join?" Rimi asked and Kasumi didn't even think twice when she replied. "Of course!"

The two shared a hug, while everyone else watched with a smile on their face. A truly heart-warming moment.

But as soon as they separated, the mood changed again. Now it was Saaya's turn to explain and Arisa had the feeling that it wouldn't be as easy to change her mind as it had been with Rimi.

"Well, simply put, I don't have time. I already told you that. I have to look out for my mother and help with the bakery, all while looking out for my grades. I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Kasumi slouched in disappointment. This wasn't something you could solve with a heart-felt speech. But there had to be something she could do.

"Okay, but putting that aside, would you like to be in a band? Like, if you had the time, would you join?"

Saaya blinked at her and tried to say something, but struggled for a moment. "It's not that simple, it's not just the time."

"Then what more is there?" Kasumi asked, making Saaya get more upset.

"It's…complicated. I really don't want to talk about it."

"Well, we didn't really want to do this either, but it was necessary. Communication is important," Arisa chimed in. Saaya still was reluctant to talk.

Next to her Rimi grabbed her arm and looked back at her with big eyes. "I think they're right. We can talk about your feelings and maybe even find a solution that works for everyone."

Saaya's gaze lingered on the girl for a few seconds, before she turned away to look at the ground again.

"That's the problem, there is no solution that works for everyone. You all will just suggest to bend backwards for me and I don't want you to do that. I'll be a burden for everyone, just like last time."

"Last time?" Kasumi asked. Saaya closed her eyes. It was a memory she didn't want to relive, but now that she had brought it up there was no way she couldn't talk about it.

"I...used to be in a band back in middle school. The four of us would make music together in Natsu's garage. Those were the days." She smiled at the mental image of being with her past friends, but it quickly faded again.

"One day, we were asked to play at a local festival. We had practiced hard and were excited to perform. But just before we were up, I got a phone call." Arisa gasped quietly as she thought she knew where the story was going.

"I picked up and heard my siblings crying at the other end. My mother had broken down and my father was out to get a delivery. They didn't know what to do and were so overwhelmed, I—" A sniffle escaped her nose.

"I just started running. I ran all the way and called the ambulance. Luckily, it wasn't that serious. My mother didn't have any lasting damage, but ever since, I'm scared that it will happen again. That's why I keep an extra eye on her all the time and help wherever I can."

The group needed a moment to process the story. Kasumi was the first to speak up again.

"I'm sorry, that sounds awful. I completely understand you now, however…you didn't really answer my question. Deep down, do you want to be in a band again or has this scarred you forever? If you said that you hated bands because of that, then there's nothing I can do, I suppose, but…" She shifted around a little to get closer to Saaya.

"The look in your eyes when you talked about your old band suggested otherwise."

Saaya kept looking at the ground, clenching her fists. Kasumi was right and she knew that, but it wouldn't change anything.

"If I said I did want to be in the band, what would you say? That you'll make it work? That you'll find a way? That you'll adjust?" Kasumi leaned back and blinked. Why did these things sound so negative when Saaya said them?

"Are those answers wrong?" was all she could ask her. Saaya still wouldn't look at her.

"Not necessarily, but…making so many adjustments for one person is just stupid. It'll waste everyone's energy and even though you all will say that it's fine, deep down you'll all be annoyed by it, I know it and you know it too. It won't work."

Kasumi objected, but Saaya stayed stubborn in her opinion and they began arguing back and forth with the same arguments. Arisa started thinking and let their voices fall into the background.

She could understand Saaya's point very well, maybe too well if she was being honest. However, her time with Kasumi made her see the world with different eyes. Kasumi had taught her that nothing was impossible and that things sometimes weren't as complicated as you made them out to be.

"Saaya," she caught the girl's attention and Kasumi also stopped her arguing. All Arisa had to do was speak her mind and her feelings would reach her. Ironic that it had been Saaya who had told her that.

"I understand your sentiment, I really do. I used to think like that all the time. Being pessimistic to the core. Nothing I wanted would work, it just wouldn't, even though I tried. Or rather, I thought I had tried." Just like Arisa had planned, Saaya became intrigued.

"Sometimes the solution is so simple, but you keep making excuses as to why it's not, because life is never simple. That's not true. During the last three weeks I learned so many new things, but the most important is that nothing is impossible. You have to believe in yourself and the people around you. Not everything is doomed to fail, some things are meant to be."

Finally, Saaya raised her head to look Arisa in the eye and the latter could see that hers were watery. Arisa’s words had hit her in the right spots.

Rimi comforted her, even though her own eyes were still a little red and everyone patiently waited for Saaya's final answer.

"You guys…" Saaya sniffled. "Thank you for being so patient with me. I…I want to join your band! So, if you still need a drummer—"

"Yes! Yes, we do!" Kasumi cut her off and her tears came back. Just like Rimi, she hugged Saaya tightly and couldn't contain her excitement.

"That means we have two guitars, a bass, drums and a keyboard," Arisa counted. "A complete band." She smiled and everyone else did too.

For the first time since before the concert, the five of them had a light-hearted, happy atmosphere between them. It was better than anything Arisa had expected and she was more than grateful about it.

"However, I suggest that we start doing band activities when Kasumi and I have our bodies back," Arisa said. "Let's use this time to get our equipment together and just organize and plan out some things in general."

The rest agreed and all girls leaned back to enjoy the rest of their lunch break, which wouldn't last that long. Knowing herself, Arisa predicted they'd have the rest of the week. The thought of her confessing to Kasumi still made her incredibly nervous.

Besides, she just finished a long, exhausting conversation, she deserved a break of at least a day. She quietly sighed to herself and glanced over to Kasumi who was enjoying the warm summer breeze on her face.

In a way, all she had just told Saaya could apply to her. Seeing how well this conversation turned out gave her hope that it would also go well with Kasumi. A smidge of doubt remained however, but Arisa figured it would probably always remain, even after Kasumi would say she returned her feelings.

The bell tore her out of her thoughts and all five waited a moment before standing up to go to class. Just like that, they had started a band. It felt a little weird, but somehow so right. Maybe it really was meant to be.

With big grins on their faces the girls went to class. None of them would be able to focus on it however.


	9. When everything seemed lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly, I'd be lying if I said the lack of feedback on my latest chapter didn't bother me :')  
> I'd rather have anyone say the chapter was garbage than nothing, but alas here we are and honestly I don't fault anyone for not leaving a comment, you don't have to, but it just helps me to know whether I'm writing something worthwhile or not (maybe some people haven't caught up in such a short time and that's fine of course!)  
> maybe y'all don't mind this as much as I do, idk, but I don't want to leave this unfinished so I'm going to upload the rest of course until this fic is finished

Rimi's hands were trembling as she held out a slightly wrinkled sheet of paper. Her face was red and she refused to look at any of her band members.

"Um…!" The words got stuck in her throat, so all she could do was wait for someone to grab the paper and get it over with. Kasumi took the initiative.

"What's this?" she said, holding up the paper so that everyone could read. "A song?"

Indeed, there was some messy writing on the page and a few chords written above the verses. Rimi nervously fumbled around with her hands.

"We, um, we wrote this together…Onee-chan and I." Her voice sounded even higher than usual. Arisa smiled at her in hopes of easing her nerves, but unfortunately Rimi was still looking away.

"That's amazing, Rimi-rin! Finally, we have a song to play!" Kasumi cheered and relief washed over the black-haired's face. Tae and Saaya nodded in agreement.

"'My heart is a chocolate cornet,' it sounds so much like you! It's so cute," Saaya commented, making Rimi's cheeks an even darker shade of red.

"Actually, we…" The girl gripped her school bag and swung it in little circles. "We also…did a little…recording…" The last word was so quiet that her friends barely understood, but she saw their faces lit up in excitement and encouragement.

"Would you like to play it for us?" Arisa asked, trying not to sound too demanding and Rimi quietly nodded. She pulled out her cell phone and some headphones.

Each of the buds went to Kasumi and Saaya, while Arisa and Tae had to get close and press their ears to them. Rimi hit play on her phone and the sound of a guitar could be heard, with a bass joining in from time to time.

And then a high-pitched voice began singing. It wasn't perfect, some notes were slightly off-key and the acoustics of the room it had been recorded in didn’t do her voice any favor. However, one thing stuck out, accompanied every single word and had been woven into the melody: passion.

Rimi's love for music could be heard clear as day. Her voice had no strain, no fear, no tension, just her joy for music and her fun from writing and playing. And all four of them knew, the song was perfect for them in its own unique way.

The recording came to an end, giving the girls a good idea of how the end product should sound like. Rimi still waited for a response, eyes wide and fists clenched.

Her friends smiled at her and proceeded to shower her with compliments, making Rimi be able to relax again. Showing her song to her friends had taken a lot of courage, but now she was happy that she had done it. It was a step towards the direction she wanted to go, towards being more confident and daring.

“So far, I’ve only got the lyrics and the guitar chords. The bass, too. But the drums and keyboard are still missing,” Rimi added. Arisa and Saaya glanced at each other and smiled. They would figure it out somehow.

“That reminds me,” Arisa said, “I think I know a place where we can practice without disturbing anyone or having to rent a studio every time.” The rest looked at her curiously and waited for the reveal. A place like that would be more than ideal.

“Granny told me something about a music room in the basement of the warehouse. I haven’t been there yet, but maybe we could check it out together and see if we can make it comfortable somehow. I just hope it’s not in an unredeemable state.” Her friends giggled, but agreed to go and look at the room together.

“It’s a plan,” Saaya stated. Now they had one more thing to look forward to. However, they did also agree to not do too much at once, since the body swap was still somewhat of an obstacle to them. Arisa had tried to bring it up to Kasumi a few times, but chickened out every time.

It was already Thursday, pretty much the half point of Arisa’s self-pronounced final week. The past few days had gone by so fast and she knew the rest of the week would go by even faster. She didn’t intend on stretching out her time as much as she could, but seeing the state she was in, she feared she would.

And then there was another concern, which had made its way into Arisa’s head. There was the possibility that even after she would confess to Kasumi and even if Kasumi would say yes, they wouldn’t switch back. She had no idea what she would do in that situation. Just thinking about it paralyzed her entire body and mind.

_Tomorrow_ , she thought, _for sure. No excuses this time._

In case, the worst case does occur, she’d have a few days to figure things out. It wasn’t like they would die by the end of the week or the swap would become irreversible or anything like that, but she really wanted to switch back.

For Kasumi’s sake, so that her family could have their daughter back. For her grandma’s sake, so she wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore, because even though the woman didn’t show it, Arisa knew she did—a lot. For their friends’ sake, so that they could finally start band activities and practice properly.

And of course for her own sake, so she wouldn’t have to think about all these things anymore and could go back to her own life, which actually looked a lot brighter than it had done almost a month ago. All thanks to a magical rabbit.

She took a deep breath to prepare herself for the task she had set herself for the next day. Was she ready for this? Absolutely not. Would she be ready by tomorrow? Knowing herself, no, not at all. But that didn’t matter. It had to be done.

Besides, they always say the perfect moment for these kinds of things doesn’t exist. There was no use waiting for one. She’d have to gather all of her courage and get through with it. Rimi had set a perfect example today.

“It’s a plan,” she whispered to herself.

* * *

“Onee-chan?” Asuka was standing in the doorway, eyeing Arisa with a mixture of concern and confusion. “Are you okay? I heard you groan at least a million times in the last five minutes alone.”

Arisa averted her eyes. Asuka was the last person she could speak to at this moment. “Sorry, it’s just...I have a test tomorrow and I forgot to study. I’m doomed!”

She let herself fall onto the desk in a dramatic fashion she knew from Kasumi and heard Asuka sigh in resignation. “I’m sorry, but you brought this upon yourself. I’m not going to help you study this late. Goodnight.”

Asuka turned on her heel and slowly returned to her room. Arisa complained like she knew Kasumi would, but let her sister walk away in the end. This was probably the first situation in which studying would be a waste of time for her. Crazy world.

She slammed herself onto the bed and was curious to see if she would be able to get any sleep that night. She had a suspicion she wouldn’t.

The sound of the ticking clock echoed through the room. Usually, Arisa would ignore it or her brain wouldn’t even register it properly, but not this time. Every noise had been seemingly amplified by tenfold, making the girl unable to relax and focus on calming down.

_It’ll be fine. I have nothing to fear._

All the signs pointed to it being the right thing to do. She really shouldn’t let herself get so worked up over it.

Arisa had always considered herself to be a rational person, but either her self-perception was immensely inaccurate or she had picked up a new trait from Kasumi. It didn’t really matter though, since it wouldn’t change anything about the task at hand.

She rolled over in her bed, so she faced the ceiling. Should she ask Asuka to take the projector out again? It had really helped her ease her mind last time. But then again, last time hadn’t been as serious. The stakes were much higher now. She’d better leave it be.

Suddenly, Arisa sat up again. She hadn’t even thought about the aftermath. If she were to start going out with Kasumi, what would both of their families say? She could probably count on their friends’ support, but what about their classmates? The teachers? People on the street? What would they think?

Uncertainty began spreading through her body again. It was really just a back and forth with her feelings. When she thought she solved one problem, another presented itself. Sometimes Arisa wished she could turn off her thoughts; it would make things so much easier for everyone involved.

She looked at the clock. It was only 11PM, meaning if she fell asleep right now, she could get a good load of sleep. She quickly changed into her pajamas and turned off the lights.

For a moment, Arisa really thought she was going to fall asleep fast, since a wave of tiredness washed over her and she was able to forget her anxieties for a few moments. Unfortunately, she had to ruin it by noticing the fact and so the thoughts started seeping back into her head, leaving little to no hope for a good night’s sleep.

* * *

“Good morning!” Arisa’s friends greeted each other with their usual morning energy. The (currently) brunette didn’t have any of that, however.

When she had looked at herself in the mirror this morning, her reflection had been reminiscent of a corpse more than anything else. She hated herself for ruining Kasumi’s pretty face like that, but one bad night was worth it if it meant she would finally give them their bodies back.

Yes, she would do it, today. Her plan was set in stone and nothing would be able to stop her from acting on it. Nothing.

“Arisa?” The girl in question slowly turned her head in the direction the voice had come from. Kasumi looked back at her with a worried expression on her face. “Are you okay? You look very tired.”

She was right about that. Arisa tried thinking of an excuse, before realizing she didn’t even need one. “I’m fine,” she assured her friend. “We have to talk later. Alone.”

Kasumi’s face didn’t change much, but she agreed to meet at Arisa’s place after school, like they would usually do by now. However, there was a little spark of curiosity in her eyes. Arisa missed it.

Classes dragged on forever that day. Arisa struggled to keep herself awake and earned a few displeased looks from Kasumi’s teachers. She didn’t care about that though. Soon, that wouldn’t be her problem anymore.

Her lunch break had been misused to take a nap. Her friends barely managed to wake her up when it was over, but Arisa was convinced that it helped at least a tiny bit. At least, she felt like the afternoon classes had been more bearable than the ones that had come before the break.

“I guess we’ll see each other Sunday morning at Arisa’s place to check out that music room,” Saaya said, when all five stood at the school gate. “Yeah,” was all Arisa had to say. She could only hope it would be her, who would greet all of them at her house by then and not Kasumi.

The girls said goodbye and all headed their separate ways. Arisa started walking towards her home and Kasumi hopped along. For some reason, Arisa felt her friend was even more cheerful than usual or maybe it was just her imagination. Whatever would happen later, she just didn’t want that smile to fade. Not now, not ever.

They didn’t talk for most of the way, since Arisa was too tired for it and already had trouble simply walking. After way longer than necessary, they arrived home.

Arisa had to resist to just lay down on her bed and sleep. It didn’t help that Kasumi kept suggesting it over and over and assuring her that she wouldn’t mind if she fell asleep.

“No, Kasumi. I have to stay awake. It’s important.” Kasumi tilted her head and stopped talking. She waited for Arisa to continue, leaving them in uncomfortable silence for a number of minutes.

“Sorry,” the (currently) brunette said, when she realized that Kasumi was waiting for her. She was so tired, her mind simply drew blank.

_Maybe I should take a short nap. We have the entire evening. One hour couldn’t hurt._

“I think I will sleep a little. Only for a hour though. Can I count on you waking me up on time?” Kasumi nodded with a smile and as soon as Arisa’s head hit the pillow, the girl fell asleep.

* * *

Her eyes flung open. Arisa felt more awake than she had ever been. She glanced around the room, hoping to get a glimpse of the time. Judging by the girl that had fallen asleep next to her, that same girl seemed to have failed at her task.

Maybe it wasn’t too late yet, Arisa hoped. Maybe a half-hour nap had sufficed. But she knew she wasn’t that lucky. 9PM. Great.

She sighed and let herself flop back onto the bed. Kasumi kept sleeping like the careless girl that she was. Except, Kasumi wasn’t careless. She cared more than anyone else in this world, even more than Arisa. This was her way of showing it.

Arisa turned towards her and smiled. How could she ever be mad at her when Kasumi always had Arisa’s best interest in mind? Arisa had really needed sleep and Kasumi just really didn’t want to deny it to her.

Nothing had been lost yet. They still had time. If needed, Arisa could stay the night even, since it was a Friday. But should she wake Kasumi up now? Part of her wanted to, because now was the time to talk, now she felt like she could do it and it would go well, now the atmosphere between them was perfect. Besides, she hadn’t been that tired anyway, at least not to Arisa’s extent.

However, she also wanted to do the same thing Kasumi had done for her just now: Let her rest for as long as she needed it. If she didn’t want to sleep, she wouldn’t have fallen asleep in the first place, right?

For now, she could just lay there and stare at the girl next to her. Was that a creepy thing to do? She didn’t have any malicious intent, so she convinced herself that she was fine. Kasumi probably wouldn’t mind, she had probably also watched Arisa sleep before.

She almost hated the fact that she had gotten accustomed to look back at her own face all the time and to stare back at Kasumi’s face every time she looked in the mirror. It should have never come that far. It should have never become normal to her.

But what could she have done to make them switch back earlier? Should she have confessed a week ago already? Maybe that would have made her feel better. Maybe they would already have their bodies back, being happier than ever.

She should really stop thinking about all these alternative routes. She didn’t take them. What mattered was the present and nothing else. When would she finally learn that?

Focusing on Kasumi’s steady breathing, she tried to get herself away from all the negativity. Kasumi would be her light, guiding her through the darkness that was her mind. She couldn’t even imagine a life without her anymore. How had she even survived before?

Yes, Kasumi’s sole existence was just a blessing. She had given Arisa so much already and it seemed she would continue doing that for the rest of their lives. It made Arisa wonder what she could give back to her. Why would Kasumi want to date her? What did she give her? Arisa genuinely had no idea. Her anxiety rose again.

_Don’t be like that! Kasumi is already satisfied with your existence! You have much more to give than you realize!_ the angel on her shoulder whispered to her.

_That’s stupid. You have nothing, Kasumi is only pitying you. There’s no way in hell she could ever like you back,_ the demon on her other shoulder countered.

But who was right? Only Kasumi knew, but she was still sleeping and Arisa still didn’t have the heart to wake her up. For now she had to endure her inner fights, until her friend woke up again, which would hopefully not be in the next morning.

She looked really cute, even though she had Arisa’s face right now. Her eyes were loosely shut and her lips slightly parted. Such a calm expression. Such a different side of her.

Arisa’s eyes stopped on Kasumi’s mouth. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss her. Maybe not in the state they were in right now, but maybe later on, with their respective bodies.

She had only read about it in fiction. The sensation of someone’s lips against your own. Many described it as ‘a firework of emotions’ or ‘getting goosebumps across your entire body’ and similar analogies. However, Arisa had never know what to make of it. Sure she could imagine, but wasn’t it better to _experience_ it first-hand?

Who knew, maybe her chance would come very soon. For now, she had to satisfy herself with just daydreaming.

Arisa kept relaxing on the bed, waiting for Kasumi, when she heard the front door open and someone entering quite loudly. Did her grandma go out? It seemed strange to her.

Someone started speaking and Arisa sat up, sweat forming on her forehead. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

_No! Nonononono!!! Why now???_

Her muscles tensed up and she didn’t dare to move even a centimeter. Her heartbeat fastened in panic. She glanced over to the sleeping girl next to her, her mind going blank.

She kept sitting in silence, listening to the voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but every change in volume made her breathing quicker. The voices stopped after a while, but it made Arisa even more nervous.

A knock on her door made her flinch. "It's me, Arisa, dear," she heard her grandma say. The woman opened the door and stepped in. Arisa was relieved to see she was alone.

Her grandma saw the expression on her granddaughter's face and knew that the situation didn't need much more explaining, only confirmation.

"They're back."

Arisa felt her heart drop to the ground. Just when she thought that everything was going great, of course, something had to go wrong. Life was a curve of ups and downs, she knew that. However, she had hoped for her current up to last just a little longer.

Now, she really regretted not confessing earlier. Now, her time was actually up. Now was the end.

If they saw her in her current state, there was no telling what they would do. Arisa gave her grandma a pleading look. "Can you give me time? I just need to wake up Kasumi and—"

She stopped herself. If they switched bodies right now, there wouldn't even be a problem, but was Arisa ready? Did she want to confess in such a stressful situation? There was also still the possibility that they wouldn't switch back so easily. Her head started spinning.

Next to her, a sleepy Kasumi had woken up from the commotion. Her confused gaze rested on Arisa and it was clear she wanted answers.

"I can try," Arisa’s grandma said, preparing to go back downstairs. She turned around at the door for a last time.

"It's not as terrible as you think it is. Give them a chance." With those words she left both girls alone again.

Kasumi rubbed her eyes, still not comprehending the situation. To her it seemed that Arisa didn't want to talk about it, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"What is going on?" she asked carefully. Arisa took a minute to respond.

"The universe hates me."

Kasumi wanted to ask further, but Arisa had leaped forward and grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes were shimmering with determination as she stared at the girl in front of her.

"Kasumi, listen. The important thing I wanted to talk about…We don't have much time, unfortunately. I should have told you this days ago, but I was a coward. So, I'm sorry if this is rushed." She shifted around, keeping her hands on Kasumi.

"So, um, basically…" She took a deep breath, shouting encouraging words to herself in her head. She just had to believe. It had been Kasumi who had taught her that, so it was only fitting that she would follow that advice in this exact situation.

“I…” Her voice was shaky. She licked her lips, which had gotten dry and did her best to press out the words stuck in her throat. She noticed that her hands had started trembling.

It was no good.

This wasn’t the way she wanted to deliver her feelings to Kasumi. Not like this. Not under the pressure Kasumi had no idea about. Not with the emotional thunderstorm wrecking havoc inside her. Not with the sole intention of using it to run away from her problems.

In the end, she let go of her friend and let her arms fall back to her sides. Her gaze lowered and she slumped down with a tired breath.

“I’m sorry. I can’t say it.” Arisa felt defeated. After all, this was the end, wasn’t it? What else was there to come? If she couldn’t say it now, she couldn’t say it ever. This had been her last chance.

“Arisa…” Kasumi looked back at her with worry. She wanted to place a hand on Arisa’s shoulder, but hesitated. Arisa seemed so...different. So serious. So hopeless. So tired. An ocean of sadness sent out its waves across Arisa’s eyes and Kasumi managed to get a glimpse of them.

For the first time in her life, Kasumi had no idea what to say. Usually, she would try to cheer up her friends and the words would just come naturally, but not this time. Every sentence she formed in her head got rejected until no more were left.

And before any of them could do or say anything, the door to Arisa’s room opened once more. And this time, the woman entering wasn’t Arisa’s grandma.

* * *

Awkward family dinners. Who didn’t love them? Arisa, for one, couldn’t imagine any sane person to enjoy them.

The air at the table was filled with a particular sort of tension. The sound of cutlery clacking against a plate echoed through the room and drove Arisa insane. Couldn’t they just use chopsticks like regular people?

It had been months since Arisa had last seen her parents. Their work required a lot of business trips to foreign countries, so it was hardly surprising she didn’t get to see them often. In fact, she had already grown accustomed to it, so much, that she regarded her grandparents her ‘real’ parents sometimes.

Usually, they would come home if there was a special occasion, like a birthday or a holiday. So why did they come home now, on such a regular day? Even worse, why did they come without a warning? It was almost as if they did it intentionally. Given how Tae had been aware of their switch for the most part, Arisa wouldn’t even be surprised if they would announce they had been breeding magical rabbits that go around and cause chaos in the world.

For now, they haven’t said anything that lead her to believe they were aware of the situation. Her mother had briefly hugged Kasumi, while her father had insisted on a handshake. If that hadn’t been the definition of awkward, then Arisa had no idea what even could be.

Her grandma had prepared a quick dinner and her parents wanted both girls to eat together with them. ‘As a family,’ they had said. Arisa had had to suppress her desire to gag.

It wasn’t like she hated them or anything, they were just distant. What annoyed her, was them acting as if they weren’t. Pretending to be a regular family with deep bonds that could only be broken by death; that was simply not the truth.

And now, Kasumi was thrown into the mix. The poor girl had no idea. Unfortunately, Arisa hadn’t had the time to prepare her for anything. Kasumi was on her own. Well, almost, since her friend was sitting next to her for now and could help her if needed. And she would need the help.

“So,” her mother started talking after finishing her meal. She folded the napkin she had been using and laid it next to her on the table. Arisa was glad she didn’t have to look at her, but also felt endlessly guilty for burdening Kasumi with her personal problems.

“How are you? We haven’t seen each other for a while. You also didn’t text us a lot.”

_‘A while.’_ Arisa almost scoffed. Last time they had seen her, she had still been in middle school. Kasumi shot her friend a panicked look.

“Uh...good?” she answered hesitantly, trying to form a smile. She glanced at Arisa again, who only shrugged and rolled her eyes, not even caring if her parents saw her. She had admitted defeat already. Whatever would happen, she had already accepted it. There was no use fighting against it.

“That’s nice,” Arisa’s mother answered, her expression unchanged. “How is school? You’re already in high school, aren’t you? Time really flies.”

Arisa clenched her fists under the table. Seeing Kasumi struggle to give an answer made the situation ten times worse to endure.

“Also good. Still top of the class.” Kasumi did a little victory pose before mentally stepping back and contemplating whether that was appropriate. Arisa didn’t care. Her parents didn’t seem to, either.

“Well done,” her father commented, taking a sip of wine. The (currently) brunette watched the liquid spin inside the glass as he put it back on the table. She breathed out through her nose. When would this stupid dinner end already?

“Will your friend spend the night here?” her father suddenly asked. The girls turned to each other. They hadn’t planned on it, but somehow Arisa felt the need to stay. She nodded at Kasumi who then verbalized that answer.

“I see,” was all he had to say. Luckily, that was the last question they had for their daughter.

“It’s late already. We can talk more tomorrow. Goodnight.” With that Arisa’s parents left the room to get to their own. Arisa heard them take their suitcases and close the door. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.

“This is a disaster,” she mumbled to herself. Kasumi turned to face her. Her emotions had been written onto her face, so Arisa knew what her friend was thinking. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say to her.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I mean...Because...You just had to deal with my parents instead of me. I feel bad for pushing this onto you.” Kasumi shook her head.

“It’s not your fault. Besides, it was a little nerve-wracking, but we got through, didn’t we? I call that a success!” She smiled at her friend and took her hand. Inside her chest, Arisa’s heart melted. She really didn’t deserve her.

However, it wasn’t over yet and Arisa hoped the next day would never come. Having Kasumi answer three questions had been enough. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they found out about the switch. Or Arisa’s feelings.

If it were for her, she wouldn’t care. If her parents had a problem with any of that, she would shrug and walk away. The problem was rather, where she would walk to. As long as she lived in their house from their income, she didn’t want to take any risks. Getting kicked out of the house would probably be the end of her life, though she didn’t know if the chances of that happening were actually as high as she assumed.

There were a lot of things she didn’t know about her parents. They were almost like strangers. Maybe not quite. Aquaintances was the most fitting term probably. But in no context other than their blood relation would she regard them as family. Especially not after she had seen and experienced a real one.

She always remembered them being busy all the time. Real workaholics. Her grandma had always been so worried about them.

_“Why did you have a child if you weren’t going to care for it?”_ her grandma had asked them. Arisa asked herself the same question to this day.

“You’re so lucky, Kasumi.” The girl in question widened her eyes. The words had suddenly escaped Arisa’s mouth, but she didn’t have the energy to try and take them back.

“How so?” Kasumi asked.

“You probably know the reason you were born.” The (currently) blonde tried to respond, but Arisa had already stood up and begun cleaning the table. Soon after, Kasumi joined in and neither of them said anything anymore.

When they were done, they headed for Arisa’s room to get some sleep, even though they had had some already. Still, both of them found themselves tired from the evening and fell asleep as soon as the lights went out.

* * *

Arisa had hoped for the previous day to have been nothing more than a silly nightmare that she had been forced to live through. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been one.

She turned her head to look up on her bed, where Kasumi had been sleeping. To her bewilderment, the bed was empty. Maybe Kasumi was in the bathroom.

Only then Arisa noticed something felt off. She turned her head in the opposite direction and found the girl she had been looking for snuggled up to her side. Arisa didn’t even know which question she should as herself first.

_When? Why? How?_

She felt her face heat up. It shouldn’t even be that big of a deal, being so close to her. They’ve been physically closer already and they have already slept next to each other multiple times. Then why was she so nervous?

Arisa sat up and looked at the clock. It was early morning and she wondered whether her parents were already awake. She hoped they weren’t.

Carefully, she slid out of the futon and placed the blanket over a sleeping Kasumi. She took a short moment to simply sit and smile at her, before heading to the bathroom to get herself ready for the day.

As she stepped into the hallway, she was instantly met with her father and almost went back into her room. However, she didn’t want to run away, when Kasumi hadn’t had a chance to do that. It wouldn’t be fair. She refused to look at him though.

“Ah, you’re Arisa’s friend,” her father commented and it was clear he waited for her to introduce herself. Telling him Kasumi’s name didn’t sit well with her, as she didn’t want either of her parents to know, but it wasn’t something she could avoid. It would be far too suspicious.

For now, she would at least try to keep the switch a secret. Maybe she’d get lucky, even if she didn’t believe in it herself.

“Toyama. Kasumi Toyama,” Arisa answered, staring at the ground. She was still wearing her pajamas. If she would’ve had the choice, she wouldn’t have let him see Kasumi’s body like that. There was nothing she could do against that now, however.

“Nice to meet you, Kasumi. I’m Arisa’s father.” He extended his hand to give her a handshake and Arisa stared at it with contempt. It wasn’t right to give him the cold shoulder like that, especially since he assumed she was an entirely different person, but Arisa just couldn’t help herself. Reluctantly, she accepted it.

“Is Arisa awake?” he asked after an awkward pause. Arisa shook her head. “I see.” That seemed to be his favorite response. Arisa started to get impatient.

“Excuse me,” she said sharply and pushed past him to get to the bathroom. Once there, she slammed the door shut and locked it. Her morning had already been ruined. She stared at her reflection.

_How am I supposed to trust fate when it hits me with something like this?_

Arisa felt betrayed by no one in particular and everyone at the same time. When would this end? When could she finally be happy? She sighed and splashed her face with water. It felt cool against her skin and helped her calm down.

When she returned to her room, Kasumi was still asleep and her father was nowhere in sight. To be safe, she locked the door and began changing her clothes. Kasumi kept sleeping.

Arisa decided to take her time with getting ready, since she had no idea what she would do afterwards. Leaving her room was not an option, as she didn’t want an encounter like the previous one to repeat itself.

However, there wasn’t much she could do inside her room with Kasumi being asleep. Practicing the keyboard would wake her up. Her homework had already been done and she didn’t want to do Kasumi’s for her. She didn’t really have anything to read or watch, so that wasn’t an option either.

Of course, she could always return to her favorite hobby of browsing the internet, but today she didn’t really feel like it. It was no use, she had to wait for her friend to wake up, just like she had done the night before. Hopefully it wouldn’t become a pattern. Arisa was far too impatient for that kind of stuff.

_Maybe I’ll just wake her up. There’s nothing stopping me from that…_

She finished up Kasumi’s signature hair buns on top of her head and looked back at herself in the mirror with a satisfied smile. At first she thought them to be ridiculous, but now it felt wrong to see Kasumi’s face without them. Love really makes you see the world with different eyes.

Having done that, Arisa stood up and intended to walk over to wake her friend up. It didn’t go quite as planned, as a loud knock at her door echoed through the room. Kasumi released a sleepy grumble and Arisa grunted.

“What?” she asked coldly, only later realizing that she didn’t say it with her own voice. She quietly cursed and waited for a response. That was the only thing she could do at the moment.

The door handle moved up and down, making Arisa remember she had locked the door. She wasn’t sure if it was for better or for worse yet. “Um, I came to ask if you two wanted to have breakfast with us,” she heard her mother say. So it had been for the better.

Kasumi rubbed her eyes and Arisa signaled her to give a response. The tired girl didn’t understand immediately, but got the message in the end. “Yeah, five minutes,” she called out and let her head fall back on the pillow.

Arisa’s mother didn’t say anything after that and Arisa listened to her footsteps becoming quieter as she walked away again. She was grateful that she hadn’t had to see the woman’s face. Meeting her father had already been enough for her.

“Good morning~,” Kasumi yawned, trying to sit up again. She showed a warm smile despite the happenings of the past day. Granted, she had no idea about the relationship between Arisa and her parents, so all she could do was being there for her friend. Arisa had to admit to herself that she did appreciate her efforts.

“Not sure if I could call it a good one, but,” Arisa shrugged with a resigned expression, “whatever. Morning.” Kasumi gave her a confused look, but didn’t question her. She rose from the futon and stretched her back and arms.

“Phew! I slept really well!” Arisa raised an eyebrow.

“Oh really? Since when is a futon better than a bed? And since we’re on that topic, why were you sleeping in it in the first place?”

“Oh, you know…” Kasumi drew circles on the ground with her toes. “It was so lonely in the bed without you, so I kinda…” She showed a sheepish smile, which made Arisa roll her eyes, but not in a bad way.

“How do you sleep when I’m not there then?”

“I don’t!” Arisa almost believed her for a moment, before realizing that even Kasumi had her limits. “Just kidding!” Now it sounded like her again.

“But thinking of you does help me fall asleep faster,” Kasumi admitted. “I wish I could fall asleep next to you more often. Maybe even everyday.” She stared at her feet and waited for a response, which got lost in the depths of Arisa’s mind. Too much was going through her head from Kasumi’s joke proposal to Arisa’s feelings and the body switch.

“I should get ready,” Kasumi said after realizing she wouldn’t get a reply and began rummaging through Arisa’s wardrobe. She dressed herself in silence and Arisa unlocked the door again, when both of them were ready to go downstairs.

The table was packed with all kinds of breakfast food, making Arisa get concerned about her grandma again. The older woman was nowhere to be seen though. Her parents had been the only people in the room. It seems they had been waiting for the two girls to arrive before they would begin their meal.

_How gracious,_ Arisa thought. She sat down in a position where she wouldn’t have to face them and could avoid eye contact by simply not turning her head. She knew it was cowardly and that she was dumping everything on Kasumi again, but somehow she didn’t find enough energy to care or do something about it.

Because in the end, that was her, Arisa Ichigaya, in her purest form: A coward.

Even though she had overcome so many challenges already, she was nowhere close to being ready for this one. No, it was too sudden, too badly timed, too crushing for her to recover from the blow and take another one. She wasn’t strong enough. How could Kasumi ever want someone like her?

She glanced over at the girl in question, who was drooling over all the options she had standing in front of her. Knowing her, Kasumi would probably have a piece of everything on her plate in the end. Arisa found herself smiling at the mere sight of the girl, before the dreamy atmosphere she had created in her head was shattered by her parents, who began asking annoying questions again.

“You seem in good spirits. Did something nice happen?” Arisa’s mother asked. Kasumi froze and shot Arisa a troubled look.

“Uhh…not really. I was just hungry, so I’m glad to finally have breakfast!” she tried to save herself. Arisa couldn’t quite read their faces, but she could swear she saw a hint of doubt in their eyes. This was probably a bad sign.

“By the way,” Arisa spoke up, “I don’t see your grandma anywhere.” Her words were intentionally directed at Kasumi, who proceeded to look around with the same curiosity in her face. “You’re right. Where is she?”

“Ah, she is outside, doing the laundry. Don’t worry, she didn’t make breakfast. It was all us.”

“You?” Arisa blurted out and immediately went mute, turning her head away. Maybe they’d think it was Kasumi who asked, but that seemed highly unlikely. They weren’t idiots. There was no way out of this one.

After some minutes of awkward silence, Arisa heard one of her parents clear their throat and reply with a dry, “Yes, us.” They continued eating, but Arisa lost her appetite. She pushed her scrambled eggs from side to side across her plate. She hated everything about the situation she had found herself in.

“Ah, um, it’s really good,” Kasumi tried to lighten the mood.

“Thank you,” Arisa’s mother replied. The conversation died down again until all of them were finished with breakfast. In the end, Arisa had managed to force most of the contents from her plate down her throat.

“So...I guess we’ll clean up then,” Kasumi stated, glancing at her friend in concern. Arisa’s parents nodded and left the girls to do their work. As soon as they left the room, Arisa released a deep breath. The tension had been nearly unbearable.

“I’m...so sorry,” she whispered under her breath. Upon hearing it, Kasumi put her hand on Arisa’s shoulder.

“Don’t be. I don’t really get what’s going on, but I’m here for you. I know you would’ve done the same for me.” Arisa looked up.

Would she have done the same for Kasumi? The question bounced around in her head as the girl tried finding an answer.

Her first instinct had been to deny it. Arisa was lazy and cowardly in nature, so a task like that would’ve been her worst nightmare. Being trapped between your friend and their parents, whom she had a complicated relationship to, that in itself was bad enough. But having to act as the friend in the process? Unthinkable.

However, this was Kasumi they were talking about, the girl Arisa had fallen for. Arisa would give the world to her if she only could. Considering that, the chance of answering the question with a yes became near one hundred.

Besides, it wasn’t like Kasumi had much of a choice. She was practically forced to play Arisa in front of Arisa’s parents, so the latter probably would’ve wound up without much of a choice as well. There really wasn’t any reason to further entertain the thought.

“Thank you,” Arisa whispered again and leaned into Kasumi’s hand. _I love you._

Kasumi showed a soft smile and squeezed her shoulder. “Of course!”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kasumi let go of her friend and shifted around in her seat. She pressed her lips together and Arisa knew her question before the girl had voiced it. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but what happened between you and your parents?”

Arisa sighed, making Kasumi regret asking. She looked around to see if her parents were in hearing range, but decided she didn’t really want to take the risk.

“Let’s clean up first and then we can talk about it in my room.” And so they did.

Back in Arisa’s room the two sat down on the bed and Arisa prepared to talk about her feelings. It wasn’t something she did often, since there weren’t many people she could talk to about something so personal. In fact, her grandma was the only one who came to mind.

But now, she had Kasumi. She was sure she could talk to her about anything and Kasumi would find a solution. Maybe she could even help with this problem, though Arisa felt guilty about relaying on her, instead of working to find a solution herself. It was her problem after all.

“Okay, so,” Arisa clasped her hands and fumbled around with her thumbs, “where should I even begin?” Before she could think of a good starting point, Kasumi took the initiative and asked away.

“Do you hate your parents?” Arisa was taken aback by the directness of the question and blinked at the girl in front of her. She was pretty sure she didn’t fully hate them. It was a lot more complicated than that.

“Not really,” she answered.

“Did they do something to you?”

“Not directly. We’re just very...distant.” Kasumi tilted her head.

“You see, they were always really focused on their work and...kind of neglected everything else. I saw them maybe five times a year. Naturally, my grandparents became my parent figures and my real parents were reduced to the role of distant relatives who came to visit every year.”

Kasumi nodded along, but it was obvious she couldn’t relate and Arisa knew that better than anyone else. Her family was everything she could’ve ever wished for. And she had to admit that she was jealous of it, but she would never dream of trying to take it away from Kasumi. Arisa had done enough harm as was.

“So that’s what it looks like. The main issue is that my parents won’t recognize that fact.”

“What do you mean?” Kasumi asked.

“Anytime they come back they try to act as if we’re a regular family, as if they aren’t missing from home all the time. I once tried to talk to them about it, but they just denied my feelings and it’s been very awkward between us ever since. So I decided that if they aren’t going to listen to me, I won’t listen to them.” She crossed her arms and became irritated just thinking about the mentioned conversation. It had been such a disaster.

“Huh…” Kasumi lowered her gaze. ”Sorry to hear that.” Arisa just shrugged.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like that’s your fault.”

“Have you tried talking to them again?” Arisa blinked.

“Um...no?” The girl furrowed her brows and gave her friend a sceptical look. “Why would I do that? It’s pointless. I already got an answer and I doubt that it’ll change just because I brought the topic up a second time.”

“You won’t know until you try!” Kasumi countered.

“But I _do_ know! I know my parents, they won’t listen to me! They never change their mind about anything!” Kasumi went silent for a moment before she began talking in a weirdly calm voice.

“You know, it’s funny, because a few moments ago you said they were like distant relatives to you, yet you know them so well? Seems kinda fishy to me.” Arisa froze and let her shoulders sink.

“Back when we first met you also claimed to have seen through me, but had you really?”

“N—No…”

“Tell me, am I the girl you thought I was? Had you been right with your assumptions?”

“No…!”

“Then why don’t you give your parents a chance as well? Maybe they’re entirely different from what you think they are!”

“No!!!” Arisa gasped for air and took a deep breath, but she was still worked up and kept beathing heavily. “I—I can’t...it’s not the same…!”

Kasumi wanted to say something again, but decided against it. _She must’ve finally given up on me_ , Arisa thought. And who could fault her for that? Kasumi was only trying to help and Arisa kept refusing even though the solution was so simple. All she had to do was go up to her parents and talk it out. It was so easy, so why couldn’t she _just do it_?

In reality, she was still shaken up by how easily Kasumi had seen through her helpless facade. All she had said was true, Arisa kept making useless assumptions and excuses to avoid getting hurt.

After all, admitting your flaws and wanting to become a better person meant you had to _work_ on yourself. That required three things: time, effort and courage. Arisa wasn’t willing to spend any of these things.

The worst thing about it was that she knew she was being irrational and stupid, selfish and lazy, annoying and cowardly. Yet, she couldn’t find it in herself to care about changing any of that.

Kasumi had changed that, but it had only lasted for a bit less than a month. Arisa thought back to all the moments in which she had gone out of her comfort zone. There was her asking Kasumi to be her friend, her approaching Rimi, her meeting up with Saaya, her starting a band with Kasumi...so many important moments, that should have helped her overcome her inner demons and they had—until she had to face the final demon boss.

All of the things she had learned had seemingly vanished, all of the things she had left behind had made a glorious come-back. And Arisa couldn’t understand why.

As she had told herself time and time again, she didn’t hate them. They haven’t done any horrible things to her, they had just been gone for a long while. People had it so much worse and here Arisa was, making a big deal about nothing. It only went to show how weak she really was. Not even Kasumi could change that.

“I’m sorry.”

_You can apologize as many times as you want, but it won’t change anything_ , she heard Kasumi’s voice scold her in her head. The actual Kasumi didn’t say anything. She simply rose from the bed, emitting an ominous aura Arisa wasn’t sure she quite liked.

“What...what are you…?”

“If you can’t do it, then I will.” Without waiting for a response, Kasumi started moving towards the door. It took Arisa a short moment to process the words and when she did, she stumbled from the bed, trying to stop her friend at all costs.

“Kasumi, stop! It’s something I have to do by myself!”

“Well, you’re clearly not doing it, so do we even have much of a choice?” Arisa flinched a little. She knew Kasumi was doing it for her own good, but the words still cut deep into her emotional wounds.

“Besides, I would have to do it anyway, since you don’t want them to find out about the switch for some reason,” Kasumi explained.

“‘For some reason’? Do you have any idea what they might do if they find out?”

“Do you?” Kasumi countered and Arisa fell silent for a brief moment.

“They could...kick me out or disown me...or even...dispose...of me…” Kasumi looked back at her with a horrified expression.

“They would do that??? Over a body swap??? That you had _no control over_??????” Arisa bit her lip. She hadn’t only been talking about the swap, rather she was thinking about the reason for it. There was no telling how they would react if they found out Arisa had fallen in love with a girl. Though, that also wasn’t something she had much control over either.

“They might,” she answered, hoping she was wrong. Kasumi let go of the door handle and turned to her friend.

“Can I say something selfish?” she asked. Arisa hesitated and wanted to refuse, but silently nodded in the end.

“I really can’t understand why you always have to paint the devil on the wall. Granted, I know your parents even worse than you do, but from what I can tell, they’re good people. They are trying their best and I really think they deserve a chance.” Arisa lowered her head and didn’t respond.

“Besides, last time, you were afraid to tell our friends the truth, but everything worked out fine, didn’t it? You had faith and it payed off. Where did that faith go? I...I just don’t understand. I thought I helped you become more confident in yourself...what went wrong? Was that all for nothing?”

Arisa wanted to say no, but they both knew that would be a lie. Those were questions that Arisa herself was struggling to find answers to. She looked up to look at Kasumi and it seems her face was enough of an answer for her. Kasumi sighed and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Arisa must sound like a broken record by now, but that was the only thing she could bring herself to say. The other girl opened her eyes again and stared right into Arisa’s.

“I just want you to be happy,” she said and her voice was uncomfortably weak. “You keep running in circles around your problems. No wonder you’re miserable and tired all the time. If you could only pick them up and sort them out, you wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. At least not like you do right now.”

Arisa had to smile a little. “It’s so easy, isn’t it? All I have to do is face my problems.” Kasumi slowly lit up, nodding in encouragement. “Yes, Arisa! Exactly!”

“But I can’t.” As quickly as the smile had come to Kasumi’s face, it also faded just as quick. It was clear she was getting exhausted. It pained Arisa to see her like that, but that pain got only stacked onto the rest. She began trembling and tears finally started pouring out of her eyes.

“Kasumi, I’m so sorry, but I can’t! I know you’re tired of hearing it, I am too! But...I can’t do it! If I could, I would’ve done it already! I...I don’t know why I’m like this, but I understand if you hate me for it. I’m just pathetic and weak.” She covered her face with her hands and sunk onto the floor.

“Arisa,” Kasumi put her arms around her friend, “I could never hate you. It just makes me sad to see you suffer so much. I only want to help you.” Arisa sniffled. None of them said something, but they agreed to let the topic be for now. They would pick it up when they both felt better. Maybe Arisa would think about Kasumi’s words some more and find the ability to finally ‘do the thing’. They could only hope.

“Hey,” Kasumi softly whispered into Arisa’s ear, “do you want to help me with my homework?” Arisa wiped a few tears out of her face and let out a few last sniffles.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm here to say that the following chapters are probably gonna be worse :'''') all I wanted to do was write a fun story about two girls stuck in a body swap and somehow it turned into a story about parental neglect, how did it come to this??? it's not like I'm not confident in my writing but this shift is just kinda weird to me, but it's too late to rewrite this now since the rest of the story follows this plotline now  
> as I said, maybe it's not as bad as I think it is, but I'm just not the biggest fan of the plot I constructed here :')


	10. When the struggle came to an end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> turns out I'm an idiot and I've been using the word "midterms" wrong, I just thought it was a fancy word for exam (: so if you're willing to ignore my mistake, not their midterms are coming up but their final exams lmao  
> that aside, I hope this chapter clears some things up and serves as a nice transition into the final chapter which is hopefully going to come out next week  
> unfortunately, my problem rn lies in the fact that I can't seem to find the time to write, though if I do I make a lot of progress, that being said I really hope to finish it until next week, if not I'll take another week, so don't be confused if there won't be anything next friday

There were only few things better than the refreshing feeling of entering an airconditioned convenience store after having been under the summer sun for too long. Arisa let out a sigh of relief when they had finally reached the nearest store from her home.

It had been a twenty-minute walk, but that had already been enough to melt Arisa’s brain. The worst part about this was that it was only June. She didn’t even want to think about how unbearable July and August would turn out to be.

It had been Kasumi’s idea to go out and get some snacks and refreshments. That way they could avoid more interactions with Arisa’s parents and have something to munch on while doing homework.

Besides, Kasumi was hoping for the walk to have a calming effect on her friend. Maybe Arisa would be able to get her thoughts sorted out, even if only a little. With that in mind, Kasumi had stayed silent for the majority of their walk, only humming to herself like she would do every so often.

“Alright, what should we get?” she asked, turning to the other girl with a big grin on her face. Arisa looked around and let her thoughts wander. Was there something specific she was craving?

“Something sweet would be nice…” she thought out loud. As soon as the words were out, Kasumi grabbed Arisa’s hand and took her to the candy aisle. The (currently) brunette became flustered and looked around to check if anyone saw them holding hands like that. They were in public after all.

Lucky for her, the store wasn’t too crowded and the shoppers didn’t seem to pay much attention to the two girls anyway. Regardless, Arisa struggled to keep her heartbeat under control. Kasumi seemed just like always.

_How is she always so calm when she does this? There isn’t even a hint of embarrassment on her face!_

Was that a good sign? Did that mean Kasumi was comfortable with them being close like that? Or was it the opposite and Kasumi only did these things platonically? Arisa had been ready to find out, but that clearly didn’t work out.

_Well, I wasn’t at fault. It was them, who decided to come back so suddenly._

But deep inside she knew that wasn’t a good argument. Her reaction was just as important to look at to make an assessment and it had been anything than appropriate. No, this was all on her. Why did she always try to run away from the responsibility of her actions? Blaming others for her own poor decision-making was something she wanted to leave behind, but found herself always coming back to.

“Arisa?” Kasumi’s voice snapped her back into reality.

“Yes?”

“Is there anything you want here?” Arisa stared at the neatly arranged packages of chocolates on the shelf before her. She didn’t really want any of them, she just happened to stand right in front of them, but they made her think.

Chocolates like that were something you give to people you like, right? It was even a Valentine’s Day tradition. Arisa had only gotten chocolates from her family, but she had also never given any to anyone before. Would that be different next year? Would she have someone to give them to and someone to give them to her? She couldn’t help but glance at Kasumi. Only now she noticed her friend’s hands were already full with all sorts of things.

“Didn’t you grab a basket?” Kasumi stared back at her and shook her head. With a sigh Arisa turned around to get one. Wasn’t that the first thing you would grab in a convenience store? Maybe Kasumi didn’t count on them buying that much, but either way it’d be better to have one.

Arisa grabbed a basket from the stand and began to walk back again. When Kasumi came back into her sight, she stopped and took a moment to watch her. The way her eyes sparkled when she had found something she liked, the way she tried to balance it all in her arms, the way she hummed along to the song playing from the radio, Arisa watched it all and took it in. Yes, this was her, the girl she liked.

And she could only wish that Kasumi would look at her the same way.

Before she would lose herself in her thoughts again, Arisa went up to the girl and helped her put the snacks into the basket. In the time she had been gone, the number of them had doubled.

“You don’t intend to pay for all that with my money, do you?” Arisa asked sharply. Kasumi froze and gave her a sheepish smile.

“Your grandma gave me some money, so technically it’s not really yours!”

“So you intend to waste Granny’s money on…” she looked inside the basket and held out a bag of gummy worms, “...that?” Kasumi’s smile faded.

“Do you not like them? We don’t have to buy them if you don’t want them.” Arisa shook her head.

“That’s not what I—” She cut herself off and put the bag back into the basket. “Whatever. It’s fine. But don’t you think that’s enough? We haven’t even gotten any drinks yet.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Kasumi made a shocked face and both girls headed off to get something to drink. After they had grabbed everything they wanted, it was time to pay for it. Arisa was slightly nervous about their budget, since they had bought way more than anticipated. Bringing the products home would be an entirely separate struggle. Kasumi noticed her uneasiness.

“Don’t worry, Arisa! It’ll be fine!” Arisa raised an eyebrow.

“What exactly will be fine?”

“Everything!” She felt stupid for not anticipating such an answer from Kasumi. She should know by this point.

“Aren’t you an optimist? But I like your way of thinking!” the cashier commented. She was a girl their age, a little older maybe, but that could just be her make-up. Arisa could swear she had seen her face somewhere before.

“I also have a friend who is in constant need of reassurance. She doesn’t always show it, but she worries a lot. I should introduce you two, maybe some of your optimism will stick!” The girl giggled and finished up scanning the last few items.

“Your total is 2273 yen.”

“Eh??” Arisa looked at the pile of snacks they would have the pleasure of carrying back home. She knew it wouldn’t come cheap, but over 2000 yen was way more than she’d be willing to spend on just snacks.

Kasumi happily handed the money to the cashier and grabbed one of the plastic bags they had been stuffing the items into. Arisa was still too stunned to do anything.

“Arisa? Come on, let’s go back.” But her friend only stared at the ground, making Kasumi grab her hand with a worried expression.

“We don’t have to go home immediately if that’s what you’re worried about. We could take a little walk.” Arisa shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. I was just…” She glanced to the side and shook her head again. “Nevermind. Let’s go already.” They said goodbye to the cashier and Arisa turned around for a last time at the entrance to look at the girl. Where did Arisa know her from?

In the end, she had been forced to drop the thought, or at least delay it. She’d have time to think about it later. Maybe she’ll go there again in the future. For now, Arisa had to focus on carrying two full bags of junk food home.

Surprisingly, she didn’t have much trouble carrying them. They were a lot lighter than she had assumed. Kasumi on the other hand, seemed to struggle with the weight of her bags. Maybe she had grabbed the heavy ones or maybe Arisa’s body was just that weak.

Arisa suggested to switch the bags and after they did the answer became obvious: It had been the latter. She became ashamed of her physical weakness, but Kasumi didn’t comment on it.

Now that Arisa thought about it, didn’t she need a lot of stamina to be able to perform on stage for a long time? Sure, right now they only had one song for their band to play and they were far away from playing on an actual stage, but if they wanted to in the future that might become a problem.

_Please don’t tell me I’ll have to start exercising…_

She already knew the answer, but it didn’t stop her from dreading it. The only thing that made her accept this fate was the fact that she would do it for the sake of the band and, by extension, Kasumi’s sake. For Kasumi, she would run until her legs fell off.

_“Then why won’t you talk to your parents?”_ Kasumi’s voice ringed inside her ears.

She stopped. If she talked to her parents, Kasumi wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore and Arisa would most likely feel a whole lot better too, even if the conversation would turn out badly. After all, she had Kasumi now and that was all she needed. As long as Kasumi would stay by her side, the rest of the world could resent her, she didn’t care. All she needed was Kasumi’s validation.

She had nothing to lose, did she? If her parents would forbid her from seeing Kasumi, she would simply disobey their stupid rules and do it anyway. She didn’t care much about school anyway and while of course she wanted to have a stable life in the future, she felt if she stayed with Kasumi things would turn out fine, just like the girl had said.

“Arisa?” Kasumi had finally noticed that her friend had stopped and turned around with a curious expression. “Are you okay?”

“Lisa Imai!” Arisa suddenly called out.

“Eh?”

“The cashier! That was Lisa Imai, Roselia’s bassist!”

“Ehhh???” Kasumi almost dropped the bags in astonishment. “Wha—Roselia?? _The_ Roselia???” Arisa nodded a few more times than necessary.

“Do you think we should go back and get an autograph?” Kasumi wondered.

“No, not right now. It seems she works there, so we’ll probably have some opportunities to see her again. For now, let’s bring this stuff home.” Kasumi agreed and they continued their walk home.

Once they arrived, they placed the drinks in the fridge as well as some of the snacks that hadn’t survived the long walk in the heat. They also didn’t run into any of Arisa’s parents, which was relieving, but also raised the question of where they actually were.

She didn’t mind their absence however, because now that she was home again and an encounter with them was something that could happen any moment, the idea of having a talk with them seemed like an impossible task once again. Maybe it was her home’s own four walls that made her revert back to her past self, but Arisa suddenly felt a lot less confident in her faith. Why was she like this?

“Alright, let’s do this!” Kasumi slammed her textbook on the table with a determined grin and opened the page she needed, along with her notebook. Arisa absent-mindedly watched her as she munched on some cookies they had bought. Obviously, they couldn’t compete with Yamabuki bakery’s pastries, but considering they were store-brought they were actually quite tasty.

Kasumi’s determination shrunk with every passing second until the girl was left with confusion, frustration and boredom. “I hate school~,” she whined and Arisa could only shrug. She wasn’t a big fan either, but that had other reasons.

“Why does this have to be so hard?”

“Let me see,” Arisa said with a sigh and leaned over to get a better look.

“Whoever invented math didn’t do a very good job with it,” Kasumi continued complaining. Arisa ignored her and furrowed her brows over the silly mistakes her friend had made while trying to solve some of the equations. What was there not to get? All you had to do was follow the rules and know what you’re solving for.

“Unbelievable,” was all she could say. Kasumi gave her a curious look. “I mean, I knew you weren’t the brightest when it came to this, but I really didn’t expect it to be _that_ bad.”

“Arisa~,” the (currently) blonde weeped and threw her arms around her friend, who immediately broke free and pushed a pencil into her hand. “Try again. You’ll have to know how to do it on your own. I won’t be able to help you in your exam.” Their midterms were still a few weeks away, but it was never too early to start to prepare for them.

“But—” Kasumi pulled out her puppy eyes, which Arisa had a hard time resisting against. She gave in at last.

“Fine. I’ll show you how to solve this one. Only one, though. You’ll have to do the rest on your own. I can give you some tips, but you have to do the solving, understood?” Kasumi nodded vigorously and Arisa began explaining.

“Okay, the first thing you have to do here is look closely.” The (currently) blonde stared at the paper and squinted at the written equation.

“Do you see anything special about it? Maybe there’s a formula we can use here.” Kasumi kept staring at the paper, but shook her head in defeat after her eyes had grown tired of focusing on the paper for too long.

“Look here,” Arisa pointed at the equation, “you can use the binomial formula.” Kasumi stared at her with a blank expression. “You do know what the binomial formula is, right?” A sheepish smile was the answer to her question and Arisa buried her face in her palms. They better had their bodies back before midterms or else her academic career was doomed.

Though, did she actually care about it that much? Would she mind her grades slipping if it meant she could stay with Kasumi? Those two things didn’t directly correlate, since she could still be with her after they had their bodies back, but there was a chance that she would have to make a choice like that soon. She could only hope it wouldn’t come to it, but if it did, Arisa was certain she’d choose Kasumi over anything else—even herself.

Kasumi kept on whining about her lack of knowledge and Arisa contemplated whether she should use the rest of their day for teaching her basic math. And that wasn’t even the only subject they had been given homework for. Arisa wasn’t too eager to find out what else Kasumi was struggling with. In the worst case they would have to spend their entire weekend catching her up on basically anything and given that their friends would come by tomorrow, that wasn’t an option.

“How in the world did you even pass the entrance exam?” Arisa wondered out loud.

“I worked really hard! Aa-chan also helped me study, though it was really close in the end…” Kasumi giggled sadly and lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry, Arisa.”

“Huh? What are you apologizing for?”

“Because I’m so stupid. I already struggled in middle school and now high school is so much harder! I don’t get it at all! I’m sorry to be such a burden. You don’t have to help me if I’m annoying you.” Arisa held her breath for a moment.

“What are you saying?” Kasumi looked up at her.

"You're anything than a burden to me! Don't say such things!" Arisa felt her pulse quicken. Hearing Kasumi tear herself down wasn't right. Did she adapt that from Arisa? If so, she cursed herself for being such a bad influence. It seemed she would have to work harder and learn more from Kasumi than the girl could learn from her.

"Kasumi, you're not stupid. I may have thought that at first, but only because I was prejudiced and narrow-minded. But you know what? It was you who opened my eyes. You made me question my beliefs and habits and thanks to you I was able to overcome them." She balled her hands into fists.

"I was able to see how smart and wonderful you actually are! Maybe you're not academically smart, but that's not the most important thing in the world! You taught me so much, so many important things. A stupid person couldn't have done that. It must've been a genius."

"Arisa…" Kasumi couldn't hide a flattered grin, but her eyes were clearly watery. "It's the truth," Arisa confirmed.

The (currently) blonde let out a few sniffles and failed to keep in her tears. They started pouring out of her eyes and she wiped them away with her hands.

"Hey," Arisa softly whispered as she came closer and began patting her back. Her friend took the gesture as an invitation to throw herself into her arms and Arisa warmly took her in.

"I'm just…so happy," Kasumi said in between a few sobs and Arisa continued stroking her back. So they were tears of happiness. Hearing that, Arisa was able to relax a little.

"I'm so happy to have you, to see you take my advice and grow…it makes me feel so…proud? I can't explain it, I just…" Kasumi raised her head to look into Arisa’s eyes.

"I want to see you happy."

Her heart beat so fast, it might as well had ripped through her chest. Arisa struggled to keep herself sitting upright. She was suddenly so aware of all the places of her that were in contact with Kasumi. Every single one of these cells gave her a burning sensation she didn't know how to deal with.

Before Arisa could give an answer, she heard the front door being opened and her parents' voices echoed through the hallway. Wherever they had been, they had returned.

Their footsteps came closer and only seconds before their faces appeared in the door frame, Arisa had scooted back to her seat and Kasumi turned her face away to hide her red eyes. She still struggled to suppress a few sniffles, however.

"Oh my, Arisa, do you have a cold?" they heard Arisa’s mother ask with not as much concern as Arisa would have liked there to be. Kasumi turned her head just the slightest bit.

"Maybe?" Arisa’s mother shook her head, but didn't move from her spot.

"I can make you tea to make it go away, before it gets any worse." Arisa would have been lying if she had said she wasn't surprised. She really hadn't counted on such a gesture from her mother no less. But she also would have been lying if she had said she wasn't oddly happy about it.

“Sure…” Kasumi replied and turned away again, still trying to calm down again. She tried to distract herself with her homework, but it only reminded her of her failure. Even though Arisa had just reassured her of her intelligence, Kasumi had a hard time letting it go. She could only wish to be as effortlessly smart as Arisa was.

In fact, she was so occupied with her thoughts that she didn’t even notice Arisa’s father coming closer and peeking over her shoulder. She only noticed him, when he started speaking.

“Homework?” he simply asked. Kasumi flinched and covered the page with her hands. “Um…!” Her eyes darted to Arisa, who was equally clueless on what the best answer in that situation was.

“Uh, yeah! I’m helping Kasumi with it!” She flashed a strained smile, but her inner panic wasn’t very hard to pick up on. Arisa’s father let out an absent-minded, “Hm…” and leaned back again, giving Kasumi some space to release the breath she had been holding.

“Guess I shouldn’t disturb you any longer then.” With those words, he left the two girls alone again. Kasumi immediately apologized for her bad lying and Arisa assured her it was no problem.

“Actually,” the (currently) brunette began, “I think it’s time to tell them the truth.”

The other girl stared at her with disbelief and grabbed her hand, which was resting on the table. “Are you sure? Are you really ready to face them? I mean, I’m happy to hear you have the courage to do it, but...don’t push yourself too hard.”

Arisa glanced to the side for a moment before focusing her sight on her friend again. She showed a resigned smile and stroked Kasumi’s hand with her thumb. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine. To be honest, no, I’m not ready, but really—when _am_ I going to be ready for it? If we want a happy ending, I have to do this, whether I like it or not.”

Kasumi still wasn’t entirely convinced, but she didn’t want to discourage the girl after she had finally gained the resolve to do something against her problems. A sad smile graced her lips. “Hopefully all goes well. Should I call them now?”

Before Arisa could answer, her mother had already returned with a cup of tea in her hand. The woman placed it on the table next to the textbooks and also decided to have a look at her daughter's studies.

“Mathematics, huh? They’re a lot tougher in high school, but I doubt it’s something you’ll be struggling with.” Kasumi let a nervous laugh and played around with the eraser in her hand.

“Here’s your tea, Arisa. It helps against symptoms of a cold. Drink up.” Arisa’s mother was ready to leave, when Kasumi stopped her. She shot Arisa a last questioning look and the latter nodded with determined eyes.

While her friend asked her mother to get Arisa’s father so they could talk, Arisa prepared herself for everything that was about to come. Of course, there was no way she could brace herself for every possible situation that could occur, but she could at least try.

After a few stretched out minutes, her parents had both entered the room and took two seats at the table, facing both girls. Arisa took a last deep breath and gave Kasumi the signal that they could begin. Her pulse rose, she could feel it, but that wasn’t something she should be paying attention to right now. No, she had to organize her thoughts and lay out the words that she was about to speak. But first, Kasumi would have to take the lead.

“So, um, I’ve called you two to discuss a very important matter.” It was clear that she was nervous too, but it was nowhere near Arisa’s level. She kept glancing over to her friend to be sure that she was still on board.

“What you’re about to hear might be hard to believe, but I swear on my life that it is the truth. Please don’t laugh or scold us for it.” Arisa’s parents narrowed their eyes, but kept listening. It was hard to tell what they were thinking, though Arisa had a feeling their thoughts were not in her favor.

“I am not Arisa. My name is Kasumi Toyama and right now I’m in the body of your daughter. In return, Arisa is right next to me in my own body.” Their eyes darted to Arisa, who showed a weak wave and tried her best to keep eye contact. She was afraid to look deep into their eyes in fear of finding anger, disbelief and mockery in them.

To her relief, she didn’t find any of these things. Instead, there was simply surprise and a hint of curiosity. Arisa didn’t know what to think of these findings, since she had no idea how to interpret them, but for the moment she was glad that she hadn’t found anything inherently negative.

“So it’s true then,” Arisa’s father said.

“Eh?” The girls exchanged confused looks. Without further explaining, the man continued.

“Have you already found the cause?”

“Um...yeah.” Arisa raised a brow at how unappalled he seemed by the situation. Something was definitely going on.

“So you know how to reverse it again, right?” Arisa’s mother chimed in and her daughter nodded slowly. What was happening right now? Had she been right and it was actually her parents who were behind the whole thing?

“Looking at you, I conclude you haven’t figured out your wishes yet or you don’t know how to obtain what you want. Am I right?” Arisa felt her head spin. Just _who_ were her parents? How much more did they know?

“Time-out!” she declared and took a moment to catch her breath. “Why do you know so much about this? Are you the mastermind behind it or something? Is the rabbit your creation?”

“Now, wait just a second,” her father cut her off, before she could ask any more questions. “We did no such thing. We do not know the origin of the rabbit, neither do we know anything about how it has obtained its powers.” He turned to look at his wife for a moment.

“However, we know so much, because we have been in your situation long ago. That is why we believe you and do not question your experience. Besides,” he focused his sight on Arisa, “we know our daughter. We knew something was off from the second we got to see you, or rather your friend over there.”

The (currently) brunette felt something in her chest. Those weren’t just hollow words, no, she could feel that her father meant them. Why did it come to her as a surprise that her parents could tell their own daughter apart from a strange girl? Why was she so surprised that they were showing genuine affection towards her? Why hadn’t she noticed sooner?

“Wait, does that mean you two switched bodies too at some point?” Kasumi asked, unable to hide her curiosity. Arisa was equally curious and eager to hear the story. Her mother chuckled slightly and sat upright.

“That’s right. It was...Oh my, it’s already been more than twenty years! Anyway, I still remember it fondly. I had been sitting in class, daydreaming and staring out of the window. Then, with the blink of an eye, I was suddenly sitting in an entirely different classroom at an entirely different school! Moreover, it was filled with only boys and of course I freaked out!”

“You almost got me suspended because of that,” Arisa’s father commented with his usual indifferent tone, but Arisa could tell he didn’t hold it against her.

“Well, you thought you had fallen asleep in class and were dreaming all of it. You pretty much ruined my reputation at school,” her mother countered. That sounded somehow familiar to Arisa.

“Anyway, I hadn’t been entirely sure what had been going on, but I ran to my school and guess who I met there. It was none other than your father.”

"And then?" Arisa asked.

"Well, at first we were really shocked and appalled. Our top priority became finding out how to reverse the swap." That was pretty much what the two girls had done too, Arisa thought.

"How did you find out?" she asked them.

"I don't remember the details, but somehow we met this girl. She was a little…let's call it 'special' and she said to solve our problem we should follow our heart." The woman giggled slightly.

"Back then, we were obviously confused and angry by that answer, but looking back, it was probably the exact thing we had needed to hear in that moment. We proceeded to follow that advice, albeit unintentionally." She took her husband's hand.

"We fell in love."

Hearing those words, Arisa felt her heart skip a beat. Their experience was uncomfortably similar to hers. However, seeing how the two had been able to find their true love this way made Arisa hope her future with Kasumi would be equally bright. Clearly, it had worked out for her parents, why shouldn't it work for her and Kasumi?

"It was only after we got together and switched back, that the girl approached us again and told us everything about Strangie and her weird tactics."

"Strangie?"

"You know, the rabbit," her mother replied. The teens looked at each other with confused faces.

"I'm pretty sure his name is not Strangie," Arisa stated.

"His?" For a moment, all of them went silent and you could almost hear the gears that were rattling in their heads. Though, soon enough, they all came to the same conclusion.

"It only makes sense that there's more than one rabbit, considering their lifespan," Arisa’s father commented.

"Well, I thought…if the rabbit can do magic like that, it can surely do other tricks, like live eternally or something like that," his wife explained. Weirdly, enough, Arisa could understand where that thought had come from.

"Maybe Strangie is Oddie's mother?" Kasumi suggested.

"More like his grandmother," Arisa corrected her. "Assuming those powers are inherited by blood. Though, this only brings up even more questions."

In the end, they decided to stop theorizing about magic rabbit powers and continued talking about the thing they did have an answer to.

"So, from what I heard, your wish was love?" Arisa asked her parents, who confirmed her question.

"I don't know what else it could've been. We were a perfect match and switched back almost immediately after confessing." The (currently) brunette tried her best not to glance in Kasumi's direction, but her eyes kept disobeying her. Hopefully, her parents wouldn't notice.

"Makes sense," she murmured and accidentally brought her parents' attention back to her.

"You two said you didn't know your wishes yet, but do you have a theory already? A tendency?" The woman's eyes sparkled with curiosity and Arisa wasn't sure if it was the good or the bad kind. She exchanged looks with Kasumi, who just shrugged.

"No, I suppose not," she answered. In truth, she already knew. It was the exact same situation as with her parents. A few details might have been different, but the heart of the problem had been the same: Two lonely people searching for love.

Now that she had heard it, Arisa was aware of what she had to do to get their bodies back. And with the way things stood between her and Kasumi, she felt that her chances with the girl were rather favorable. Of course, a sliver of doubt remained in her heart, but that was probably something she wouldn't ever get rid of, so she opted to ignore it as best as she could.

“Oh.” Her mother’s face reverted back to her usual expression. “Well, I hope you’ll find out soon. Being in a different body for too long is quite exhausting.”

“How long did you two stay like that?” Arisa dared to ask.

“About two weeks, I think.” She choked on her spit. Two weeks??? They fell in love in just _two weeks_??? Arisa could hardly believe it, even though the same thing had happened to her. She hadn’t known Kasumi for more than a month and had already been head over heels for her. But in her mind, that was something different.

“Wow.” She turned to her friend, who seemed unfazed by the information. Why was she so calm about that? Arisa gave her a questioning look, which was answered with an innocent smile. She would never understand what was going on in that head of hers. Her focus shifted to her parents again.

This definitely hadn’t been something Arisa could have ever predicted, though it did explain a few things. However, this conversation wasn’t finished yet. They still had some things to talk about.

“Okay, now that you know about the present, let’s talk about the past.” Her parents gave her their attention once again.

"Do you remember our conversation from two years ago?" They exchanged glances, but their answer was written in their faces. Arisa sighed and didn't bother to hide her disappointment.

"Guess I should start from anew then. Basically, it's about…your attitude." She saw her parents furrow their brows and had to admit to herself that she hadn't used the best word to describe her problem. Without waiting for another reaction, she started elaborating.

"You're out a lot and I know that it's for your work and honestly, that alone doesn't bother me much. I've already adjusted to that." She paused to take a breath.

"What's bugging me is how you act when you come back. You pretend as if we're a normal family and as if we have a close relationship like a parent usually does with their child, but…we all know that's not how things are. I'm sick of it."

Arisa closed her eyes and sat there with a burning face. How would they react? She had tried her best to sound as calm and constructive as she could, leaving as little room for it to sound disrespectful as she could.

"I—" She opened her eyes again when she heard her mother start talking. The woman was taken aback, but Arisa couldn't spot any anger on her face. Her father on the other hand looked somewhat displeased.

"Are you suggesting we quit our jobs to stay here with you?" he asked in a cold tone. Arisa immediately negated the question.

"That's not what I said. I simply asked you to behave more appropriately to our situation."

"But Arisa, we are your parents. Your _family_. Even though we don't spend as much time together as other families, we still love you. There's no way we can just treat you like a stranger!" her mother argued.

"I'm not saying to treat me like a stranger, just—stop pretending we're a regular happy family."

"Is that not what we are?"

"No, clearly not."

"Why do you think that?"

"What do you even know about me? I personally don't know anything about you! That story just now is the most you've ever told me about yourself. Face it, we know nothing about each other." Her parents wanted to answer, but nothing had come out of their mouths. Arisa took that moment to calm down a little. She didn't want to get too agitated.

"Do you really need to know everything about a person to love them?"

Her mother's eyes were firmly set on her daughter. Arisa couldn't find it in herself to look away for some reason. Was her mother right? Was their blood enough to justify their unconditional love?

_But is love the thing we're talking about here? Who would be upset about being loved by their parents? No, it's…_

"I wasn't talking about your love. I was thinking about your poor attempts at parenting." Her answer made her parents even more upset. Arisa started questioning if this would end well. Kasumi gave her an uplifting look, but that alone wasn't enough to make her fear vanish.

"Anytime you come back you try to control me and push your expectations onto me. I would understand if we were close, but you don't even bother to get to know me. We barely do anything together, let alone as a family. I find that unreasonable."

"You got one thing right," her father admitted, "we really don't know you. And yes, it seems our parenting was really not adequate, seeing you talk like that. It seems your grandparents let you turn into a spoiled brat. I'll need to have a talk with them."

Arisa could hardly believe her ears. How did he even manage to come to that conclusion? She had known from the start that it had been pointless, but now even the last shimmer of hope started fading. It seemed, it could only get worse from here on.

"Wait," Arisa’s mother stopped her husband before he could rise from his seat and turned to Arisa again.

"So, what exactly do you want from us? Do you want us to give you less attention or do you want us to get closer to justify our current actions? That didn't become clear to me."

Arisa stared at the table. What did she want them to do? She wasn't entirely sure herself. All she had wanted was for them to stop acting the way they had done up to this point. But what was it that she wanted them to do instead? Arisa hadn't taken the time to think about that.

"I…" Her eyes darted to Kasumi. Her friend's family had become the ideal for Arisa, but there was no way she could ever get to the same level with her own parents. Would she be satisfied with something in between? Surely, that would be better than what she had right now. Arisa struggled to make a decision.

Her parents were intently waiting for a response, which made her nervous. They were upset enough already and she didn't want to make that worse by making them impatient. But how could she respond if she didn't even have an answer? She didn't even know where to start to look for one.

"I think…" Another glance at her friend made her look at the problem from another perspective. What would be the best solution in regards to the future? She still wasn't sure how they would react if they were to find out about her feelings and she was still afraid of finding out. However, it seemed she had to make a choice how she would want to live her future life.

"I think I'd like to get to know you better. We're very distant, but I don't think it's too late to change that. Of course, you should continue your work, but maybe, in the rare moments you're home we could do something together, like take a walk or go shopping or something. Just, normal family stuff. Would that be alright with you?"

Her mother turned to her husband who released a deep sigh and averted his gaze. Oddly enough, Arisa knew to interpret that as a good sign.

"That sounds like a plan," her mother stated with a confirming nod. "If I am being honest, I had hoped for us to get closer and be a normal family, but our work always held us back. I'm kind of glad that we had this conversation and came to such a conclusion."

A faint smile showed itself on Arisa’s face. Her mother had always been the more understanding one in contrast to her stern father. Unfortunately, Arisa had gotten most of her traits from him.

"I suppose I misunderstood your concerns. I would like to apologize for that. Certainly we can arrange to socialize more as a proper family would do. Thank you for your suggestion."

Arisa internally rolled her eyes at him. Did he really need to be so formal all the time? Still, she was thankful that he was able to admit to his mistake and didn't dare to complain. Against all odds, the conversation had ended well. It was all Arisa could've asked for.

"Thank you," was all she could say in the end and a single tear of relief ran down her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2273 yen is roughly 21,06 us-dollars for anyone wondering  
> also, I feel like the characterization of arisa's parents is all over the place, please forgive me for that


	11. When the future looked bright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy moly I did it, I wrote over 80k words like how the fuck did I do that  
> I remember when I started writing this I thought this would maybe be about 20k or something but man was I wrong  
> it was fun though and I enjoyed writing this even though I'm bad at writing endings, I hope it isn't too abrupt or anything  
> that being said this is the longest chapter with a bit more than 10k words which were all written over the span of the last 10 days or so and on top of that I had so much to do for college, so my theory of me being most productive and inspired when I have too much other work to do was right after all lmao  
> anyway I hope you enjoy this last chapter and that I tied up any loose ends and thanks for making it this far :)

After having spent so much time at her own place, Arisa decided she should return to Kasumi’s home. The girl’s mother probably wouldn’t have minded Arisa being out for one more night, but she was glad to finally be able to take a break. She smiled upon seeing Kasumi’s sister greeting her in the hallway.

“Aa-chan!” Arisa threw her arms around her and let out a deep breath. Asuka didn’t seem too happy about the sudden affection, but she was already used to it, so she didn’t complain.

“Welcome back.” None of them moved for a while and as Arisa turned her head she saw Asuka deeply focused on the little notebook in her hands. It seemed she had already begun preparing for midterms. Very commendable in Arisa’s eyes.

She let go of the girl and let her study in peace. Asuka was such a hard-working and organized person, it was almost hard to believe she was related to Kasumi. Though, Arisa couldn’t deny a few similarities between the two.

_They’re such good sisters._

Arisa felt that if the two of them had met under different circumstances they’d get along pretty well. Well, it wasn’t too late for that yet. Assuming everything would go well, Kasumi would probably introduce Arisa after the swap. If it would be as a friend or something more was still written in the stars.

Against all odds, she quietly smiled to herself. In the past, uncertainty had always made her anxious. She failed to count all of the sleepless nights she had had to endure because her thoughts had been keeping her awake. So many dangers, so many fears, all of them deeply nested into her mind.

Until Kasumi had swept them away.

It wasn’t like it had happened overnight. And it wasn’t like Arisa didn’t have any fears now or got completely rid of her anxiety. There was still work to do, but now it all seemed a lot more manageable. A big chunk had been cleaned up and she felt a lot more motivated to continue cleaning up the rest as well. There was only one person to thank for that.

She danced around the house, smiling whenever she saw her own reflection somewhere. Soon, she’d get to stare at that face for as long as she wanted to. That’s what she hoped for, at least.

In fact, she hadn’t even confessed to the girl yet. All she had been able to accomplish was talking to her parents and resolving their conflict. It didn’t have anything to do with Kasumi at all, yet she saw the world through heart-shaped eyes, as if the two were a freshly baked couple. The warm happiness spread through her body like a fountain and she let it. Who knew, maybe this would be the last time she would ever feel this way.

_No,_ she told herself, _I shouldn’t think that way. It’s going to be okay, I know it._ She didn’t know, but maybe she could trick the universe by confirming it as the truth in her head. Maybe that was how Kasumi had managed to do all these impossible things. Arisa felt like she had discovered the key to human existence.

With a giggle, she let herself fall onto the bed. It was as soft as ever and her body had sunk into the sheets. She dreamily stared at the ceiling. Things could only get better from now. Her facing her parents had been the confidence boost she had been needing all along. If she had been able to fix that problem, then there was nothing that could ever stop her and that was how she felt in that moment.

That being said, when _was_ she going to confess? On the next morning, they would meet with their friends to look at the basement of the warehouse, so maybe afterwards? Arisa hesitated. She was still unsure of how her parents would react to her dating a girl. Obviously, she wouldn’t be able to hide it from them forever, but after so much drama, she just wanted a break. They would find out next time they came home or maybe she would even simply text them.

Then on Monday before or after school? In the morning seemed too stressful, so after school would probably be the better choice. Just now she noticed, she hadn’t even considered her set-up. Should she choose a nice scenery like the sunset? That was kind of romantic, but at the same time it seemed a little too boring. Kasumi deserved something big and spectacular, something sparkling and heart-pounding.

Stargazing was the next idea that came to mind, but Arisa had no idea how she would be able to pull that off so quickly. Reluctantly, she dropped that option. But what else could she do?

She had to think of the moment when her parents had come back and she had almost had a panic-induced confession on her bed. Pretty much the opposite of romantic. Arisa played with her hair as she kept staring holes into the ceiling. There had to be something that was just right, she only struggled to find it.

Maybe she wasn’t meant to find the answer just yet. There was no particular rush, sure she wanted to get her body back before midterms, but if she failed to meet that deadline, Arisa wouldn’t care if that meant she could spend the rest of her life with Kasumi by her side.

With that in mind, she decided to simply rest and not think about anything else for the rest of the day.

* * *

"We're coming in!" Three cheerful girls set foot into the warehouse and looked around with big and curious eyes. Arisa let them wander around for a bit before leading them to a trap door.

"Oh, secret!" Tae commented, but Arisa just shrugged. With a yank, she pulled the door up and revealed a stairway leading into the dark unknown.

It looked a little scary, the girls had to admit, but only seconds later Arisa had found the light switch not far from the door and the room became visible. The (currently) brunette took the lead and one by one the five girls descended.

The room was a little dusty, but still better maintained than any of them thought it would be. Big shelves filled with old CDs and even records ran along the walls. Old furniture was cramped into a corner, though some of it still looked to be usable.

Arisa had to sneeze from a wave of dust that had come flying towards her. Granted, the air wasn't exactly fresh, but that probably came from the fact that the room hadn't been used for god-knows how long. There was definitely some potential there.

"What do you guys think?" Arisa asked her friends, whose answer had already been written in their faces.

"I like it. If we were to clean up a little, this could turn into some sort of lounge. Also, the walls seem quite thick, so we can be as loud as we want with our practice without disturbing any neighbors," Saaya noticed and turned to Arisa with a smile. "It's perfect."

Rimi agreed and gleefully examined the music collection, while Tae silently stood in the middle of the room, her thoughts running wild.

"This," she spoke up, "this is it…!" Arisa raised a brow and was about to ask her to elaborate, when Tae dramatically turned around with sparkling eyes. "We're going to build Hanazono Land here!!!"

"Ehhh? What's that supposed to be?!"

On the other side of the room, Kasumi let out a gasp and loudly cheered. "Yay! Hanazono Land! Can't wait to see it! It sounds so fun!"

Tae gave her an excited nod and Arisa gave up trying to understand them. Something about the scene made her smile though. She never could've guessed she'd find such nice friends so soon and so quickly.

It had gone so fast, yet Arisa didn't feel like their friendship was rushed or temporary. The bonds they had made reached so deep already and she had a feeling they would only deepen over the years.

After discussing a plan for cleaning up and placing or moving some furniture, the girls stood in a circle and let their gazes wander. This was probably going to be the place where they would spend their time after school practicing their instruments or maybe just hanging out. No one knew what memories they would make here, but they were certain, those memories would stay with them for a lifetime.

“How lucky that you had such a room down here. It seems someone from your family really liked music,” Rimi commented.

“Considering the guitar that Kasumi had found here, ‘fate’ would probably be the more fitting word,” Saaya stated. Arisa found herself agreeing with her. There had been too many perfect occurences to call it ‘luck’.

Without much more to do, all of them went back outside. Kasumi invited them to stay for a bit longer and hang out, but none of the three seemed to have much time on that day.

“We’d love to, but, um...Rim-rin and I have already made plans for the afternoon, so…” Saaya glanced to the side and Rimi’s face gained a splash of color. Arisa threw them a suggestive look, which both pretended not to see. That had been enough of an answer for her to know what was going on. Even Kasumi had a suspicious smirk on her face.

“See you tomorrow!” they chanted and left as if they were in a rush. Neither Arisa, nor Kasumi minded though. They could understand them too well.

Tae was left, but she too announced she wouldn’t stay for long. “I gotta look for Oddie again. We try to keep him in his cage, but he keeps breaking out. I don’t know how he does it.”

“Yeah, you better catch him. He’s made enough trouble already,” Arisa replied.

With a wave Tae also went off to do her own thing. Arisa looked after her, as the girl went up to the entrance and took a sharp turn, vanishing from sight.

“What now?” she heard Kasumi ask next to her. Arisa turned her head again. That was a very good question.

“I don’t know.” Kasumi put on her thinking face and tried searching for something they could do. She didn’t come far however, because Arisa’s grandma appeared and called them to eat lunch.

“Oh? Did your other friends leave already?” The woman looked around with a surprised expression. Arisa nodded, making her grandma look at the ground.

“What a shame. I had hoped they would at least stay for lunch. I made enough for everybody.”

“Granny! I told you not to overwork yourself!” Arisa scolded her, but her grandma shrugged it off.

“Don’t worry, I had your parents help me. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I am capable of a lot more than you think.” The woman smiled and pinched her granddaughter’s cheek. Arisa stood still with a red face.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.” Arisa smiled. Why couldn’t her parents have inherited this trait from her grandma? Maybe they would have been a lot more affectionate if their work had been different and they hadn’t spend so much time away from home. Heaven only knew.

Without further ado, they all headed inside to eat lunch. Arisa’s parents were already waiting for them there. Suddenly, Arisa found herself very thankful of the fact that their friends had left and wouldn’t get to meet her parents.

Sure, to get closer they should probably be aware of Arisa’s friendships, but she wanted to introduce her friends when her relationship to her parents had already been improved. She wasn’t comfortable with anyone seeing her and her parents the way they were right now.

“Just you two?” her mother asked when they entered the kitchen.

“Yes.”

“Ah.”

Wordless, she and Kasumi sat down and everyone began with their meal. The air wasn’t as tense as it used to be, but it remained pressingly quiet. It seemed, none of them wanted to speak, yet all of them begged for some sort of conversation to take place.

“How long are you going to stay?” Arisa finally asked. Her parents exchanged glances.

“We’re departing tonight,” her father replied.

The shrimp between Arisa’s chopsticks dropped down to her plate. She stared back at them, dumbfounded. Somehow, she couldn’t settle on the emotion she should feel from gaining that information.

In the past, she would’ve cheered on the inside, but the situation had changed. Her emotions had become a lot more nuanced and harder to keep up with. Arisa swallowed nervously, thinking of something to say.

She had hoped for them to stay a bit longer, no, she had actually been expecting it. Usually, they would come home for about a week, so three days were comparatively short. Too short.

Now that they had finally made up of sorts, Arisa had hoped to spend some time with them and maybe even make a few nice memories. Though, as things stood, that wouldn’t have worked out anyway with her being stuck in Kasumi’s body still. This would’ve called for a fast confession, but Arisa didn’t want to rush things.

Her internal dilemma kept her occupied and in the end a shaky hum had been everything that had come out of her mouth. Her parents gave her a few concerned looks, but it seemed they didn’t dare to ask about her reaction.

She continued with her meal, but found her appetite gone. Forcefully, she swallowed the remainder of the food on her plate. As soon as she was finished, Arisa started regretting that choice as she began feeling sick.

Kasumi noticed her discomfort and carefully reached out touch Arisa’s arm. The (currently) brunette showed a weak smile before looking down at her lap again. She felt something rumble around in her stomach and an unusually high amount of saliva in her mouth.

“Excuse me,” she called out and rushed out of the room with a hand over her mouth. The rest watched after her and then looked to each other. Everyone showed concern.

“Is everything alright with Arisa?” her mother asked Kasumi, who could only reply with a shrug.

“I can only hope so,” the (currently) blonde remarked.

“Did we do something wrong again?” The woman turned to her husband, who struggled to form an answer.

“Maybe she ate something spoiled,” Arisa’s father theorized, but it was obvious he didn’t believe his own explanation. The room fell silent again.

A few minutes passed and no one had touched their food in Arisa’s absence. Kasumi fiddled around with her fingers and had decided to wait for Arisa’s return. Knowing her, she might need a minute for herself. That didn’t stop her from worrying, however.

Arisa’s parents glanced around nervously, making sure to look at the door every few seconds. Occasionally their eyes would rest on Arisa’s grandma, who only stared at the table, seemingly absent-minded. Eventually, their impatience got the best of them.

“Should we look after her maybe?” Arisa’s mother suggested, ripping everyone out of their thoughts. She got no immediate answer, but after a moment Kasumi nodded slightly, though with uncertainty.

“Yes, I think you should,” Arisa’s grandma answered decisively, prompting Arisa’s parents to stand up and start to look for their daughter. Meanwhile, Kasumi began to help cleaning up the kitchen.

Finding Arisa hadn’t been hard. She was sitting in the bathroom, leaning against the wall and holding her stomach. It wasn’t clear whether she had thrown up or had only been feeling nauseous, but her parents still approached her with caution.

“Arisa?” She looked up to see her father stand in the doorway, her mother peeking out from behind him. Seeing them didn’t spark much joy, but she had had enough time to collect a fraction of her thoughts at least.

She lowered her gaze again, but made sure to show no resistance against them walking in. Her mother kneeled next to her, while her father leaned against the wall.

“Are you feeling alright?” Arisa didn’t move to look into her mother’s eyes, but she could see them shimmer softly from the corner of her eye. A part of her wanted to say ‘yes’, just to make it easier for everyone, but she had learned the consequences of lying. With a sigh, she shook her head.

“I feel...sick.”

It wasn’t much, but that was the only thing Arisa felt she could say. Her throat felt somehow clogged, making it hard to swallow even though the saliva kept stacking up inside her mouth. Her parents didn’t really answer, but she felt her mother’s hand on her shoulder. Maybe it was her imagination, but that gesture calmed her down a little.

“Is...is it because of us? Did we do or say something inappropriate again?” her mother dared to ask. Arisa immediately shook her head.

“No!” She had to swallow hard. “No...not at all…” She took a deep breath and tried to find a way to talk. After a few moments the pressure around her chest lightened a little and she seized the opportunity to explain herself.

“I was just sad that you had to leave so early after we finally resolved our issues...I didn’t mean to react this way, but it seems I ate too fast. I’m sorry to worry you.” Her gaze remained focused on the bathroom floor, so she couldn’t see their reaction. Soon, her mother spoke up again.

“That’s...good. Kind of. Not that you’re feeling unwell, of course—We just thought you might be mad at us again. I’m glad to see it’s not the case.” She cleared her throat.

“As for our departure...I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do. The work we do is important and we cannot delay it. I’m sorry.” Her hand squeezed Arisa’s arm. “But next time we’re home, we’re going to spend some time together. I promise.”

For the first time, Arisa looked up to see into their faces and was met with a warm smile. The last time she had seen such an expression on her own mother’s face had been far too long ago. She almost started crying.

A weak, "Thank you," escaped her lips and she smiled back. It seemed surreal, her connecting with her parents right there on the bathroom floor, a little silly even. It didn't matter though. The feelings were real and Arisa let them coarse through her body.

From Arisa’s point of view, the conversation was finished, so she was quite surprised when her parents started talking again.

"Before we go, we'd like to tell you something. Please correct us if we're wrong, but," her mother threw a quick glance at her husband, "are we right to assume that you harbor feelings for your friend Kasumi?"

_…Eh?_

_Ehhh?????_

The (currently) brunette almost jumped. Her heart rate went up faster than it had ever done before and she tried to grip the wall behind her for support. How in the world did they know? And more importantly, what would they say next?

Arisa hoped for the best, but braced herself for the worst. The seconds her mother took to respond felt like hours. She felt sweat running down her back as she slowly nodded.

"I see. So, we were right then." Arisa couldn't tell whether her tone was happy or disappointed or maybe something in between. She kept listening.

"It was your wish, right? To have someone love you." Those words hit her in her chest, probably because she knew her mother was right. Still, she nodded again, her sickness slowly returning and making her unable to speak again.

"Obviously." Her mother hummed sadly. "We weren't here to do it after all." She lowered her gaze. Arisa’s father cleared his throat, ripping her out of her thoughts.

"Right. That's not really what we wanted to say. Listen Arisa, after everything that had happened we are still your parents and we only want the best for you. That means—" 

Arisa had to resist the urge to cover her ears or simply storm off. She could already hear the end of the sentence in her head. 

_That means we don't want you to go out with a girl._

"We'd like to encourage you to make the first step."

"Eh?"

Arisa blinked and had trouble fully registering the words her mother had just said. However, the latter simply continued without waiting for her daughter's mental process to conclude.

"If the rabbit chose you two, we're certain that you are perfect for each other. It worked for us after all." Her parents exchanged glances.

"I don't know whether your friend is already aware of her feelings, but she definitely likes you. You shouldn't hesitate and ask her out. I'm sure this would also end your body swap, like it did for us." Her father nodded to show that he agreed.

This time, Arisa couldn't hold back her tears. She curled up and let her tears flow, much to her parents’ bewilderment. Her mother’s hands hovered around her as the woman thought about the best way to comfort her daughter.

Only moments later, Arisa managed to pull herself together again and started reassuring them that those were tears of happiness. Her mother's look remained sceptical, but she soon accepted the fact.

"Thank you for your support, I can't express how happy I am." Arisa wiped some tears from her face. “I...I haven’t really expected this reaction from you…”

“Oh? What sort of expectation did you have then?” her father asked. Arisa didn’t want to reveal that she had simply assumed the worst of them, so she tried to dodge the question somehow. That didn’t quite work out, however.

“Um...I thought you’d...um...you would tell me to focus on my studies and let go of my feelings or something…” She felt her face heat up for telling a lie, but in her eyes it was better than telling them the truth in this moment.

“I see.” The man put his hand to his chin. “I suppose I understand why one could think that. Do not worry, I am confident you will do just fine. I do not think you are the type to slack on school just because you are in a relationship. If anything, it might even motivate you to do better and think more about the future.”

Arisa hadn’t expected such kind words and so much trust, let alone from her father. Her tears threatened to make a come-back, but she succeeded in keeping them back this time.

“Thank you. I won’t disappoint you.” And she meant it. The three of them shared a look of warmth and trust and for the first time, it felt like they were truly family.

Her mother stood up straight again and Arisa rose from the floor as well. Together they went back to the kitchen where Kasumi and Arisa’s grandma had been waiting for them. It seemed they had finished cleaning in the time Arisa had been gone.

“Arisa!” Kasumi jumped up from her chair and was thrilled to see her friend feeling well again. For some reason, Arisa blushed and looked to the side. She wasn’t sure what it was that made her so embarrassed, but she also wasn’t given much time to think about it further. Her parents excused themselves and went to their room to pack up the remainder of their belongings.

“Our plane flies quite late. We’ll be taking our leave at seven in the evening,” her mother informed her, though Arisa wasn’t quite sure what she would do with that information. Looking at the clock it meant, they would stay for about six more hours. Could they maybe do something together in the meantime?

Taking one look at her, Kasumi read Arisa’s mind and suggested the exact same thing Arisa was thinking about.

“Are you sure?” the (currently) brunette questioned. “I mean...I’m still in your body and all that…Going out like that doesn’t feel right.”

“I don’t mind!” But Arisa wasn’t convinced.

“I do,” she stated and Kasumi needed a minute to come up with a good response.

“Well, why don’t you just watch a movie together? It doesn’t matter whose body you’re doing that in, right?”

“I don’t even know what kind of movies they like. If they even watch them.” Kasumi pouted, but wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“Then maybe you can play some board games together!”

“I don’t know, they might see that as a waste of time.”

“Okay...what about...showing them your bonsais!”

“I already did that. They approve of them. Even told me I did a good job in caring for them.” Arisa showed off a proud smirk, but ultimately, they haven’t come closer to a solution to this question. Kasumi began running out of ideas.

“You could...talk to them about their work?”

“As if I want to do that. I know enough about it to know that it’s extremely boring. Or maybe they make it sound as if it was, I don’t know.” She shrugged while Kasumi let out a sigh.

“But there’s gotta be something you can do together! Like...um…” She scratched her head. Arisa had long since given up on thinking of an activity, but it seemed Kasumi was determined to let Arisa have one last moment of bonding before her parents left again.

“Cleaning the house?” was her last suggestion. She looked at her friend with hopeful eyes, even though she knew her idea would be shot down. Arisa gave her an appreciative smile and pat her shoulder.

“Thanks Kasumi, but I think I’ll leave it be. The house is clean enough as it is and I can’t imagine they’d like to spend their last couple hours home doing housework.”

“Yeah.” Slowly, Kasumi began coming to terms with that outcome, but it left a bad aftertaste. It didn’t seem right to her.

As through a miracle, she suddenly gained an idea, so obvious, yet perfect, she wondered how she didn’t think of it earlier.

“I know what you can do!” With an excited grin, she turned to her friend and she was confident that Arisa wouldn’t be able to find any complaints this time. With an almost annoyed look, Arisa signaled her to go on.

“Cooking! Your parents would probably want to eat something before leaving and we also know that they like to cook! On top of that, your grandma won’t have to do so much work! It’s perfect!”

Arisa stopped in her motion and let Kasumi’s arguments be analyzed by her brain. It was just like the girl had said, cooking was the perfect activity to do with her parents at this point in time. She couldn’t find a single argument against it.

“Kasumi, you’re a genius.”

* * *

She couldn’t remember the last time she enjoyed her meal as much as she did in this moment. The taste in her mouth gave her such pleasure that she lost a few tears as soon as the food came in touch with her tongue.

Sure, Arisa was still a bit disappointed that she wouldn’t get to spend more time with her parents on this day, but their cooking session had definitely made her excited for all that was yet to come. She knew the latest they would come back home would be October, when it would be her birthday. There was no way they’d miss it, considering they had returned for it every year so far.

Her parents were in good spirits as well, seeing their content smiles while enjoying their last meal at home. Arisa’s grandma seemed to approve of it too.

Seeing this scene, Kasumi felt a little bit out of place. This was a family moment and she obviously wasn’t part of Arisa’s family.

_Not yet_ , she tried to cheer herself up, but it didn’t work out that well, since the future she hoped for wasn’t bound to become reality one day. It didn’t help, that she still wasn’t any closer to knowing how Arisa felt about her. She wanted to bring it up multiple times, but the timing never seemed appropriate. Arisa had so much to worry about, she didn’t want to burden her with even more.

But now, all that had been resolved. Now was the time to talk about her feelings, or so she thought at first. After thinking it through a bit more, Kasumi concluded she should give Arisa a break first. Everything looked to go well for her at this moment and Kasumi didn’t want to shatter that. She didn’t mind occupying Arisa’s body for a few more days or maybe even weeks.

The (currently) blonde tried to shake the thought from her mind. It wasn’t relevant now, Arisa was happy and that was everything that counted. Preserving that smile had become one of Kasumi’s top priorities. Arisa didn’t smile as often as she herself did, so whenever it occurred it held that much more weight.

After a nice dinner, Kasumi gladly cleaned up the kitchen while Arisa said goodbye to her parents. Surprisingly, she didn’t cry even though Kasumi had expected her to. Maybe the girl had already used up all of her tears? Or maybe she had come to terms with her fate and finally started looking forward?

Whatever it was, it brought a smile to Kasumi’s lips. Having seen the girl struggle and suffer so much had been quite draining for her. She was happy to see that she had been able to help and make things better and she wanted to continue playing that role in Arisa’s life.

Arisa tightly hugged her mother and attempted to do the same with her father, even though the man kept insisting on a handshake. In the end they shared an awkward half-hug that neither of them had found to be pleasant, but it had been a start at least.

The girl waved after them and soon enough the couple was out of sight. Arisa and her grandma returned to the house, where Kasumi had been standing and watching. The latter gave Arisa a smile which was quickly returned and together they went upstairs.

“It’s late. You’re probably tired and we have school tomorrow. You should probably get home before Mom and Aa-chan get worried again,” Kasumi suggested, making Arisa raise an eyebrow.

“Oh? Didn’t expect to hear that from you of all people.” This time, it was Kasumi whose eyebrows rose.

“Eh? Why’s that?”

“I mean,” Arisa scratched her head, “you’re usually so clingy and a little careless sometimes, I just thought…” Her voice faded out and she stared at the ground. “Forget it,” she said in the end.

To her luck, Kasumi let go of it rather quickly, but it left the two of them in silence. She had been right with one thing, Arisa was incredibly tired, but she didn’t feel like leaving yet. There was one more thing she had to take care of.

“Do you want to sit outside and watch the sunset together?” she asked her friend. Kasumi was surprised by the offer, but took it with much joy.

The girls grabbed some of the snacks that were still lying around and went to sit on the lawn behind the house. The view wasn’t the best, but a certain atmosphere could still be found. The sun was actually still far from setting—it would probably take a couple more hours—but that didn’t matter all that much.

At first, they simply sat there, staring up at the sky and eating tiny, chocolate-glazed bread sticks. The sky was a pretty, bright blue forming a gradient to a soft yellow. Not many clouds could be seen, but luckily the sun didn’t shine too much into the girls’ eyes.

Arisa tried to strike up a conversation multiple times, but always felt like she would ruin the mood the instant she would open her mouth, so she kept it shut. She glanced over to Kasumi, who had her eyes closed and bathed in the warm evening sun. Her aura was so peaceful and oddly divine, as if she held all the secrets of life in the palms of her hands. Arisa couldn’t take her eyes off of her.

Without thinking about it, she mouthed the words “I love you,” making Kasumi turn her head and open one eye to look at Arisa. The (currently) brunette blushed and started wondering whether Kasumi had heard her, even though she knew she didn’t say those words out loud.

_Is she really some kind of all-knowing deity?_

Arisa shook her head. That couldn’t be, it must’ve been some sort of coincidence. She still felt Kasumi’s gaze on her and soon enough the silence between them was broken.

“Is something the matter?” Kasumi was now giving Arisa her full attention and almost seemed a bit on edge. Arisa took a deep breath. It seemed Kasumi wasn’t aware of the words her friend had lying on her tongue.

“Actually...there’s...something I wanted to talk about.” She fumbled around with her fingers. “The important thing I mentioned, just before my parents came back.”

A lightbulb seemed to have lit itself up above Kasumi’s head as she remembered the instance Arisa was talking about. In addition, her eyes began shimmering with curiosity, though you could also see just the tiniest hint of worry in them.

“Sure, what’s up?” She positioned herself so that she had a better view of her friend, who swallowed a few times and wasn’t sure where to look.

“I, um...I’m sorry, I’ve been lying to you. I actually...I’ve known my wish for some time now.” Arisa averted her eyes. “It wasn’t something that was easy for me to talk about, so I needed some time to gather the courage to even bring it up. I’m sorry that it took me so long.”

Her eyes darted around between random patches of grass until they finally found their way to Kasumi’s face, which showed her a warm smile. The girl took Arisa’s hand and stroked it softly.

“It’s all good. I’m glad you took your time until you were comfortable with sharing that with me.” She showed another smile, which was somehow even warmer. Arisa’s breathing got heavier.

“Thanks, Kasumi. I…” She swallowed. “My wish...it was…”

_No, that doesn’t sound good._ She decided to try again.

“Back then, on the day I saw that rabbit...I had been feeling down. Life felt so crushing and meaningless. I...I just wished for someone to be at my side and help me get out of this darkness. It felt like I had been drowning in it.” She lowered her gaze. “I was lonely.”

Arisa felt Kasumi’s hand grip hers tighter and it immediately forced her to smile a little. Those memories were in the past now and that was where they would stay. The universe seemed to have heard Arisa’s calls for help and its solution had been to send Kasumi her way. It had been the luckiest thing to happen to her.

“However,” she continued before Kasumi could say something, “at first I thought I just needed a friend. A best friend, like you are to me right now. But as you can see by our state, that hasn’t been my wish. Not entirely.”

Her face started heating up and she was sure it wasn’t from the sun shining on her face. Kasumi stared back at her with big eyes and Arisa could feel her pulse match the speed of her own. It would go well, she had heard that phrase multiple times and now was the time to test out if it had been true this entire time.

“My wish was love. I wanted someone to love me for who I was. I wanted someone to be there for me and hold me. Or rather...I wanted you to do that.” The heat she was in was unbearable, but Arisa pushed herself to deliver the last sentence of her confession that would finally seal it.

“Kasumi, I love you. And I really, really hope you love me back.”

It was silent for a moment and Arisa started to doubt herself. Had everyone else been wrong about confessing? Was Kasumi really only platonically interested in her? Had this not been the right time to confess? Should she not have done it in the first place?

All these questions got answered by a loud squeal from Kasumi which was followed by the tightest hug she had ever delivered. While Arisa still wasn’t entirely sure (she remembered her bad experiences with trusting her own assumptions), she interpreted it as a good sign and returned the embrace.

They stayed like that for several minutes until Kasumi pulled back, teary-eyed and grinning like the happiest girl in the world.

“Yes, Arisa, I love you, too!”

Hearing that, it felt like a weight had been lifted from Arisa. She felt so happy and carefree, it made her want to share her joy with the entire world. Though, sharing this moment with Kasumi only was perfect on its own.

They bumped their foreheads against each other so that the tips of their noses were touching and couldn’t stop crying or smiling from happiness. Kasumi stroked Arisa’s cheeks with her thumbs while the other girl let her hands slide across Kasumi’s back. It took them a while to semi-separate themselves again, so they could tie up any loose ends.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m endlessly happy to have you return my feelings, but...why me? What was it that made you wish for a person like me? I don’t have as much to return as you do…” They were still holding hands and Arisa felt her friend loosen her grip for a brief moment, before she gripped them tighter again and gave her reply.

“Just like you, I felt somewhat lonely. It was weird honestly, I didn’t understand at all! I mean, I had Aa-chan, I had Saaya, I had some friends from middle school still...but somehow it wasn’t enough to fill this...this hole in my heart, you know?” She sighed.

“I don’t know, I guess my friendships didn’t go as deep as I would have liked them to go. Just like you, I thought my wish had been to have a best friend that I could relax with and trust with all my issues, but...well, now we know the truth. I wanted more than that.” A small giggle escaped her lips.

“Do you think we could’ve been just friends or that it was fate that we fell in love like that?” Arisa asked.

“I don’t know. I’d like to say it was fate, but...I don’t have any proof.”

“If you had proof for that, I would have a lot more questions.” The girls giggled and continued staring into each other’s eyes.

“Maybe there’s a universe where the two of us are just friends,” Kasumi theorized. “But it’s definitely not this one.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on Arisa’s forehead.

“Yeah...you’re probably right,” Arisa said with a bright red face. It seemed she still had to get used to receiving affection from the girl she loved. Speaking of that…

“Um...so, we’re dating now, right? Does that mean we’re...girlfriends?” It felt so weird, yet so satisfying to say that word, but Arisa wanted to be one hundred per cent sure.

“Of course!” Kasumi swung her arms around her again. Arisa smiled to herself. “I see. That’s...nice.”

The butterflies inside her stomach gave her no chance to rest, but she didn’t mind. She wanted to remember this moment forever along with the almost unbearable feeling of happiness. So _this_ was what it felt like to be in love. And Arisa was lucky enough to experience it.

The sun was still shining upon them, even though the sky’s hue shifted a little more into the red territory. Arisa really didn’t want to leave, but remembering the fact that they had school tomorrow made her just a little more compliant.

“I guess I should head home.” Kasumi was visibly disappointed at hearing that sentence, but couldn’t find any good counter arguments.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Her voice wasn’t as cheery as it had been before, which made Arisa feel a little bad.

“But we can text as soon as I’m home. How does that sound?” she suggested, making Kasumi light up again.

“Yes! Maybe even call?”

“If it’s not too late, sure. I don’t want to wake up your family after all.”

“Right, of course! I’m so excited!” Arisa chuckled.

“When are you not?”

With a last hug, the two girls said goodbye and Arisa headed off to Kasumi’s home, not really noticing that something was slightly off. It came down to a hint of uneasiness, when she reached Kasumi’s house, but her good mood overshadowed any negative feelings she could be feeling.

Nothing could bring her down. She was on top of the world and intended to stay there as long as the universe would allow her. With that in mind she had a nice evening and talked to Kasumi for half the night before finally falling asleep.

* * *

Asuka jumped out of bed when she heard a scream not unlike the one she had heard just a month ago, when her sister had lost her memories. With worry, she opened the door and saw Kasumi lying on the floor, looking at her surroundings with wonder and astonishment.

_Please don’t tell me it happened again…_

It took her sister a moment to even see Asuka, but when she did, she immediately threw herself at her, loudly crying her name.

“Aa-chan~! I missed you so much~!”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘missed’? What happened?” She wanted to push Kasumi away, but felt like the girl really needed a hug right now, so she let her be. Soon enough, Kasumi pulled away herself and revealed a face covered in tears.

“You probably won’t believe it, but I haven’t seen you for an entire month! It’s so good to be back!” Asuka raised her eyebrows.

“A month you say? Then who did I see everyday for the last month?” she asked sarcastically.

“That was Arisa, my girlfriend!”

“Your _what_?” Asuka thought she had misheard, but Kasumi simply restated the fact.

“My girlfriend! I might bring her home with me today, so you can meet her! Though...you kind of already did I guess...you just didn’t know it.” She started thinking.

“Wait, what are you talking about? Is she your identical twin or something?”

“Oh, no! A rabbit made us switch bodies and we had to confess our feelings in order to switch back. It’s been a busy month!” Asuka gave her an annoyed look, but was also sort of impressed by Kasumi’s ability to tell such a silly story with a straight face. If she had lacked common sense, she might’ve even believed it.

“You know what, I don’t need to know all that. Just—Please stop screaming in the morning, okay? It’s making me anxious.”

“Will do!” Kasumi saluted and Asuka turned around with an annoyed smile to go back to her room. However, somehow she couldn’t get Kasumi’s words out of her head, because to her it had really felt like she had been talking to a different person since Kasumi got amnesia.

_Could it be…?_

She quickly shook her head. No, body swaps were completely unrealistic and impossible, Asuka was certain. So why did it sound as if it was true? Why did Kasumi say it so nonchalantly as if she had been stating a fact from her textbook? Why couldn’t Asuka stop thinking about it?

The thought kept plaguing her, but she tried to dismiss it to her best ability. Eventually, she did stop thinking about it until she saw Kasumi at breakfast again.

Her sister began telling the same story to her mother, who only nodded along with a smile and occasionally gave a response in form of a comment. Asuka would never understand how their mother could listen to such nonsense and remain so calm. Maybe it was something she would understand as she got older.

“I’m definitely going to introduce Arisa to you today! I’ll carry her here if I need to!” Kasumi seemed to be vibrating from excitement and began flexing her arms to show her strength and determination.

“Besides, I’m really eager to find out what she looks like now! I mean...I saw her body, but only from first person perspective and that’s kinda different, you know? Seeing myself from third person had been so weird!” Her mother chuckled, while Asuka tried to ignore Kasumi’s mindless banter. There was nothing to it, anyone could make up such fantasy stories, she thought.

After breakfast the girls grabbed their school bags and headed out. Asuka had been intending to go alone today, but Kasumi had insisted they go together. She seemed awfully cheery.

_Just like always, before the amnesia._

Could it be that her memories had simply returned? Maybe her memory loss had really made her turn into a different person altogether. Yes, that had to be it! There was no other way!

“Onee-chan? Did you get your memories back?” Kasumi giggled at that.

“Aa-chan, haven’t you been paying attention? I told you, I never had amnesia! It had been Arisa who made that up. She thought you wouldn’t have believed the truth.”

“She was right about that. I don’t believe your silly story, I mean, who in their right mind would? It’s so obviously made up.” Asuka crossed her arms and turned her head away from her pouting sister.

“Aa-chan~! Don’t be like that! Don’t you believe your own sister?”

“Not when I know she has such a vivid imagination.”

“Aa-chan~...” Kasumi let her shoulders hang down for a moment, before standing up straight again with a confident look on her face.

“You’ll believe me soon enough,” she said ominously, sending chills down Asuka’s spine. Somehow both of them knew that Kasumi was right about that.

When they arrived at school, Kasumi kept standing at the gate and made Asuka wait there with her for this ‘Arisa’ she kept mentioning. Asuka had been quite sure that Arisa was just a fragment of Kasumi’s imagination, but of course her mind still considered the possibility of Arisa really existing.

A few minutes later some of Kasumi’s friends came by, but none of them seemed to be the one. Kasumi had greeted them with much excitement and had stated that she was back in her own body. To Asuka’s irritation none of them seemed bothered by the statement and even congratulated her for getting her body back.

_Well, they’re her friends. Maybe they’re just pretending for her sake or it’s some kind of game._

“Aa-chan and I will wait for Arisa, you can go ahead!” Kasumi laid her arm around her sister and showed a peace-sign. Her friends smiled and made their way to their classroom.

Kasumi kept waiting and waiting, but somehow no Arisa had been coming by and it visibly stressed her out. Asuka felt bad for feeling joy at Kasumi’s fading hope, but it only served to show that she wasn’t going insane.

_That’s right. Arisa doesn’t exist and the sooner Kasumi realizes, the better._

“Classes start in less than two minutes, we should hurry,” she said and pointed to the school building. Kasumi’s face showed a pained expression as the last spark of hope faded inside her.

“Just a little longer,” she insisted, but Asuka wouldn’t let her.

“No. Now.” She grabbed her sister’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Asuka dragged Kasumi along as she ran to her class. The latter kept looking at the gate in hopes of spotting two blonde twintails dangling around, but those were nowhere to be found. Reluctantly, Kasumi turned around and gave up on waiting.

She wasn’t doubting Arisa’s existence like Asuka had been, she was only worried about the girl. What if something happened? What if Arisa suddenly lost _her_ memory? Kasumi almost considered to skip school and run to Arisa’s place.

The sisters separated, since Asuka’s classroom was somewhere completely different and Kasumi kept absent-mindedly running to her own classroom.

Once she reached it, she was greeted with her friends whose smiles faded when they saw Kasumi’s worried expression. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to ask her, since their teacher arrived just after the brunette. They were forced to sit down at their desks and so the mystery of Kasumi’s bad mood remained for the time being.

The teacher began talking about the book they had been reading in class and went on about the meaning and implication of various passages that Kasumi haven’t read. Not that she was able to concentrate on class anyway. Her mind was elsewhere.

She kept staring over to the window and while she knew she couldn’t possibly see the school gate from her position, that fact didn’t stop her from trying. A few of her classmates gave her some confused looks, but Kasumi didn’t even notice.

Even when everyone else turned to see who had just opened the door to their classroom, the girl kept staring at the window, clutching the remainder of her hope. Without much thought, she glanced over to the other side of the room, just to see what the commotion was about and her eyes went wide at the sight of the girl that stood at the threshold of the room.

The girl was panting heavily and her eyes were fixed on Kasumi. The brunette almost jumped from her chair, but her astonishment held her back.

This was the first time she saw Arisa in all her glory and it felt like she fell in love for the second time. Arisa’s brown eyes stared back at her with just as much wonder, making her guess that Arisa probably felt the same way.

Their little moment of reunion didn’t last too long however, as the teacher sharply asked what Arisa’s business was. The blonde struggled to form an answer since she herself wasn’t sure how she had ended up there.

“Excuse me, I’m at the wrong classroom!” she called out, her voice cracking in the middle of the sentence. With a burning face she bowed as deep as she could and closed the door again, making eye contact with her girlfriend one last time before she was out of view again.

Kasumi couldn’t stop smiling to herself, automatically lightening the mood of her friends again. She knew she loved Arisa and that she was pretty, but seeing her with her own two eyes was an experience for itself. And she found herself wanting more of it.

_I love her so much!_

* * *

“Arisa!” Kasumi ran past the students of class 1-B and started looking for the girl she called. She spotted her at her desk and immediately rushed to her side, giving her a hug from behind and startling her.

“Wha—Kasumi?!” Arisa looked up and for some reason didn’t expect Kasumi’s face to be as close to hers as it was. Her face turned red and even though her impulse told her to break free, she found herself lost in Kasumi’s eyes. She had gotten a glimpse of them earlier, but seeing them up close like that made it nearly impossible to stop looking at them.

Seeing Kasumi in her own body again was a million times better than she could’ve imagined. She reached out to touch the side of her face and let her fingers slowly run down Kasumi’s cheek.

Maybe it had been her imagination, but somehow her girlfriend’s face came closer and closer. Arisa started panicking a little, since she had no idea how that would end, but lucky for her, their friends appeared and interrupted the scene before any more could happen.

“So, you two are back to normal, right?” Rimi asked them, to which both girls nodded. Kasumi had pulled away after which Arisa first released a deep breath. Only now she noticed how fast her heartbeat was.

“And on top of that, you two seem to get along _really_ well,” Saaya commented. As expected, Arisa got flustered again, but Kasumi simply showed a peace-sign and put her free arm around Arisa again.

“Yes, we’re dating now!”

The three girls blinked in surprise as none of them had expected Kasumi to be so straightforward or for them to be so far in their relationship already. They exchanged glances between one another, before realizing that they should probably say something.

“Con...gratulations…!” None of the girls were sure what an appropriate response looked like, but they made an effort to show that they were happy for the couple.

“Thank you~!” Kasumi placed a kiss on Arisa’s cheek, sending the girl into overdrive. Arisa wasn’t even sure how she managed to keep herself sitting on the chair instead of rolling on the floor out of embarrassment. Just because they were dating now, didn’t mean Arisa got automatically used to Kasumi’s embraces.

The color of her face wasn’t even something you would call ‘natural’ anymore. With shaking hands, she clung onto Kasumi to keep her balance, feeling she would slip from her chair any minute. Kasumi giggled and gave her extra support with her arms.

“Sorry...I’m still...getting used to it…” She couldn’t get herself to look at her girlfriend, but somehow she knew that she was giving her a warm smile.

“Of course! That’s okay,” she heard her say and felt herself relax again, if only a little bit. In her eyes, it was time to change the topic.

“What about you?” Arisa asked her friends, who stared back at her with blank expressions.

“Us…?” The tiniest hint of a blush appeared on Saaya’s face as she chuckled nervously and couldn’t help glancing into Rimi’s direction, hoping no one would notice. “What...what do you mean?”

“Any progress in the dating department?” Arisa clarified. Saaya and Rimi’s eyes went wide and both girls blushed, trying their best to not be obvious and failing gloriously. Only Tae seemed indifferent to the question and instead curiously looked to the aforementioned girls.

“We, uh—I mean, _I_ …” Saaya stopped and released a sigh. “I don’t think there’s a need to hide it any longer. The truth is…” She looked over to a blushing Rimi, who gave her a nod.

“The truth is we’ve been going on a few dates and um...I think it’s going well.” Saaya looked to her friend for confirmation again and Rimi gave her a smile.

“Yes, I guess you could say we’re...dating.” The black-haired blushed furiously from saying that word, but couldn’t hide her joy from the implication of the sentence. Their friends couldn’t help, but share their smiles.

“Yay! Now all we need to do is find Tae’s childhood friend that she has a crush on and we’ll all be happy in love!” Kasumi cheered.

“W—Wait!” Now it was Tae whose face gained color. “I don’t have a crush on her! Also, I have a boyfriend!” Her friends giggled at the response and after some more back-and-forth their short break came to an end.

“We’ll see each other at lunch!” Kasumi waved as she exited the classroom and Arisa returned it. Her gaze lingered on the door even after Kasumi had disappeared behind it. How did that happen? How did her life change so much in only one month?

There were moments when Arisa was afraid of waking up and finding that it all had been a dream and every time she felt such uncontainable joy when she realized it wasn’t. Who could have known that such a bright future had been awaiting her?

She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling with a dreamy smile on her face. Arisa was certain: From here on, it would only get better.

* * *

Cheerful hums filled the small room, as Kasumi drew something in her notebook, clearly enjoying herself. Her friends didn’t pay much attention to her, since they were occupied with the creation of their newest song.

Tae showed them a few riffs, which sounded absolutely amazing, but didn’t really fit in with the rest of the song. The other members were still only able to play on beginner level, so a particularly good musician stood out pretty much instantly against their playing.

“We should go with something simpler, don’t you think?” Arisa asked the guitarist, who didn’t seem to get the problem.

“But then it won’t sound as cool.”

“Sorry, but you’ve got to give us time to catch up to your skills.” In the end Tae shrugged and tried again, coming up with a much more simple but also less interesting melody.

“Let’s go with that for now,” Saaya suggested before they would get stuck on it for too long. “Kasumi, what do you think?”

All four of them turned around to look at the couch on which the girl in question was sitting, still focused on her drawing.

“Kasumi?”

“It’s done!!!” The brunette proudly held out her notebook and stared at her drawing for one last time. Her friends gave each other confused looks, but nobody really knew what Kasumi had been doing up to this point.

Before any of them could ask her any questions, the girl jumped up and presented the drawing to them with a huge grin on her face. Largely written on the page were two words, surrounded by countless stars.

**Poppin’Party!**

This was the name they had chosen for their band. Arisa couldn’t remember how exactly they had come up with it, but somehow it was there now and it felt like it had been there since forever. That’s how perfect it was.

“That nice, Kasumi, but what does that have to do with anything right now?” Arisa questioned.

“I thought this could be our logo that we can maybe draw on some t-shirts! That’ll be our band outfits!” She wiggled around in excitement. Arisa didn’t have the heart to tell her that the drawing was terrible, at least for a logo.

“Um...sure...Let’s do that. But maybe cut down on the stars, I think there’s a little too many.”

“Aww~...” Kasumi looked at her drawing again. “I think the number of stars fits very well...I mean, there are so many stars out in space, I thought maybe this could represent our countless dreams...or something!” She giggled slightly.

“Well...we don’t have to get rid of them entirely…” After hearing Kasumi’s thought process she didn’t find the drawing as terrible anymore. She felt a little bad.

“Hmm, okay~. How many should I keep then?”

“Maybe five? One star for each of us,” Rimi suggested and the rest immediately agreed.

“Five it is!” Kasumi tried erasing the unnecessary stars, but quickly noticed that there were too many of them and decided to start over.

“Maybe we can do that later. How about you help us with the song for now?” Arisa convinced her girlfriend to put the notebook away for a moment. Kasumi complied and came over to the group to share her opinions on the song.

Just like that, the rest of their afternoon went by fairly quick. It was late enough to go home, but still bright enough to do it safely. Tae, Saaya and Rimi ascended from their little hideout with Kasumi and Arisa following shortly.

“Hopefully we can finish the song soon. I can’t wait to play it!” Saaya stretched her back.

“Yeah, me too,” Tae chimed in. “But so far, it’s coming out nicely.”

The girls stood there for a moment, none of them feeling like saying anything and just letting their gaze wander. Eventually, someone had to speak up.

“I guess we’ll be going then.” Saaya grabbed her bag and then Rimi’s hand. “Goodnight!”

“Goodnight!”

“Same here. Goodnight.” Tae waved and the three girls began walking home, while Kasumi and Arisa waved after them. Even after their friends were out of sight the two girls kept standing at their spot, not even turning to look at each other at first.

“What now?” Arisa heard Kasumi ask and shrugged.

“You have anything in mind?” Finally, she turned to see her girlfriend standing a lot closer to her than she had anticipated. A faint blush appeared on her face. She still had a long way to go before she wouldn’t feel nervous whenever Kasumi came so close, but it’s been getting better at least.

Kasumi (as always) didn’t seem all too bothered. She took Arisa’s hand into hers and lifted it up to her mouth to plant a kiss on it.

“Not really. But we always find something to do, don’t we?” She smiled and Arisa returned it, albeit heavily blushing.

“You’re right. Shall we go then?” Kasumi tilted her head.

“Go where?” she asked.

“To my room. Unless you don’t want to do that for some reason.”

“Well,” Kasumi shifted around a bit, “I just thought we could sit outside again. You know, like back when you confessed.” Arisa’s blushing intensified.

“Oh, um...sure, no problem.”

And so the two girls made their way behind the house again. It was a bit darker than the last time they had decided to sit there. Arisa had grabbed some blankets for them just in case. She wasn’t sure how long Kasumi intended to stay.

The air around them was eerily similar to when Arisa had confessed. Both of them stared at the sky for some time before a conversation was formed.

“What are you thinking about?” Kasumi asked her girlfriend.

“How crazy this all has been. I still can’t believe the whole body swap thing even happened.”

“Yeah, it was kind of weird. But I’m glad I got to experience it.” She smiled at Arisa. “I feel like I got to understand you like no one else did.” Arisa became red again, but this time out of shame.

Kasumi didn’t deserve all the negative things Arisa had put her through. Remembering all the horrible things she had said or thought about her filled her with unbearable guilt, even though she knew Kasumi had forgiven her for all of them. She loved the current Arisa and the blonde swore that she would never go back to her old self.

Instead of replying verbally, Arisa grabbed Kasumi’s hand and squeezed it lightly. She saw Kasumi light up from the gesture and in turn her own heart skipped a beat.

The dark times of their suffering have been put to an end, while the time of love and happiness had just begun. And Arisa got to be a part of it together with Kasumi. Was there anything else she could ask for?

“Can I kiss you?” Before Arisa registered it, the words had come out of her mouth. She panicked and tried to take them back, but found herself unable to speak. All she could do was wait for Kasumi’s response.

“Of course! You didn’t even need to ask!” She didn’t know why she was so surprised by that answer when she had somehow been anticipating it. They were talking about Kasumi after all.

“Sorry…”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because—” Arisa stared at the ground. Why _did_ she apologize? Force of habit maybe? She couldn’t even understand the logic of her own brain.

“I don’t know.” Kasumi giggled.

“Don’t worry about it! I’m also still learning about all this couple stuff.” She squeezed Arisa’s hand. “You’re not alone anymore.”

Arisa turned to look at her. Her eyes had a shine to them, as if she would start crying any second. However, her expression slowly morphed into a thankful smile which made Kasumi’s heart want to beat out of her chest.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Does that mean I can kiss you now?”

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank everyone that was here for this journey of mine and everyone that will read this in the future  
> thank you for all the comments, kudos, bookmarks or even if you only read it, it makes me happy to know if even just a handful of people enjoyed this fic :)  
> I'm not sure when I'm going to write again, though I can guarantee it's not going to be next month since I'll be very occupied with other stuff  
> I'm not even sure which pairing I want to do next, there's so many ships I enjoy and so many ideas I have, maybe I'll even do a few one-shots even though I really like writing longer stories like this one, as I said I'm not good at ending my stories so I just keep writing and writing until it gets too long and there's nothing to tell anymore lmao  
> so yea, again, thank you for sticking with this story, it had some ups and downs, but I definitely learned from my mistakes and hopefully it will make me write even better fics in the future :)


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